MEDIA | TERRORISM | FEAR

America Is Terrorized But It’s Not What You Think

I mostly blame the media

I will be the first to admit that I don’t watch the news. At least not that which is on TV and mainstream media. But even so, I know what’s going on in other parts of the world. I watch YouTube videos and do quite a bit of reading about the current events. Since we got blindsided when we were suddenly locked down in Morocco in 2020, I know how important it is to stay on top of things. Especially in today's climate.

Although I avoid mainstream media, I am still on Social Media. However, I am now shying away from looking at that also because the amount of misinformation that is being spewed is ridiculous. Just this morning I came across an Instagram reel with the headline “Europe is Under Attack.”

It then flashed to the different protests that are happening across the continent. Of course, these are localized protests and the same ones are now happening here in America. By the way, I refer to Canada, the US and Mexico as America (as this is how the rest of the world sees us). Though, I feel sorry for Mexico having to be lumped in with the two of us these days.

If we were to believe the media here, we might think that the ENTIRE WORLD has erupted into fights, and we better just hide in our houses and never come out lest we get caught up in some sort of craziness. This is called fear-mongering. And Americans are buying it hook, line and sinker.

Battles are fought in small localized areas

Even my heart skipped a beat when I read the title about Europe this morning. Of course, it is a bold statement to make. But when I looked into the comments, I realized that this was just another attempt by somebody to frighten others. The reality on the ground in ALL of Europe is not what was portrayed in this video. Just as people in Jerusalem are not personally witnessing the violence that is happening in Gaza.

In fact, the Tousim Isreal website realistically outlines what things look like on the ground in Israel these days. I encourage you to give it a read so that you can acquire a balanced perspective of what is happening. This is, so far, a very localized battle. A horrendous, unjust, and disgusting battle, I might add. I in no way want this article to show any support of violence, I only want people to understand just how badly we have been terrorized and fear mongered by the media.

Even when we were living in Nicaragua in 2018, and civil war suddenly broke out in the country, we didn’t see any direct violence in front of us. But the media would have everyone thinking that the entire country was shooting each other. Other problems started to happen, sure. Food was running out in the supermarkets, and fuel was becoming scarce.

In the end, we left because of the uncertainty that the future held, and because we didn’t really want to see violence. Plus we knew that two more mouths to feed in the country wasn’t doing anyone any favors when supplies were running out.

When we crossed the border back in Costa Rica, a sense of calm and peace washed over me. It was then that I understood how powerful a country's border is. Disputes and wars in one country, do not easily spill over into others.

In 2022 we spent three months traveling around Bulgaria. Of course, we received many concerned messages from friends because we were so close to the war in Ukraine. But the reality is that we didn’t see much, or even hear much about the Ukraine war despite the fact that we were just two countries away from it. It amazed me that Americans were much more invested in what was going on even though it was half a world away.

Sure, there were Ukrainians staying at our hostel, and people were keeping an eye on the situation. But Bulgaria was completely safe and under no threat of any sort of invasion or violence. It was in talking to Europeans that I realized how sheltered and scared we are in America. For them, this is just another war, one of thousands that they have endured in that part of the world for millennia. But we Americans, we have been too sheltered and we are now afraid of any sort of violence. The funny thing is that, despite what US Americans may think, the US is among the top most dangerous countries in the world!

Humans like to dominate other humans

For all of human history, there have been groups of people that wish to control and dominate other groups of people. It is simply human nature. These days tensions are high and since Covid, nobody knows what is around the corner. When we see these images on the news, we become worried. I believe it is because America has had it so good. Since WWII we have only really had to deal with 911 as far as large ‘terrorist attacks’ go. Europe and other parts of the world deal with these things on a day-to-day basis.

I don’t know what our governments over here are up to, but in returning to Canada this time around I have been shocked by the state of people. Now, I’m not saying that our government wants to control us (but isn’t that what governments aim for) but there is a pretty obvious chain of events that have to happen in order for it to become easy for them to do so.

There are four main steps that anyone who wants to dominate other people will follow.

1. Fear Monger

2. Cause Division

3. Keep People Separated and Get Them Fighting and Fearful of each other.

4. Conquer

I’ll let you decide where things stand with regard to this. Just know that when we live in fear, we are very easy to control.

The whole world is not at war

The other day I called my mother who is in a different town than I am currently in. Before returning to Canada last March, we had been traveling for over 3 years throughout COVID and it was time to come home for a break.

We started talking about the battle in Israel and one of her comments was, “I’m so glad that you are in Canada.” Meaning, she likes it because she knows that I am safe.

This was only a few days into the fight, so things were pretty unclear about exactly what was happening. But I did know this: There are 190-ish countries in the world and in a vast majority of all countries, there are very FEW battles being fought.

There are not that many terrorists

To put it simply, our media terrorizes us. When you are repeatedly shown the very worst of what is happening in the world, it affects you. You become fearful and scared. This is when you are the most vulnerable. Today I watched a live video from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She is a member of the US House of Representatives and she was filling in some important details about what is going on in Gaza and the West Bank. For one, she mentioned that it is estimated that there are only 20–25k Hamas terrorists. Other estimates have been upwards of 40 000.

Either way, out of 8 billion people on the planet, this is a very small amount of people. I think we normal people forget how many more of us there are in comparison to how many there are of them. Why do we allow these small minorities of haters to dominate our lives?

Of course, I have no advice or opinion on how to take them down. But I do know this. When we live in fear, we are not moving forward in life, we are standing still. This is when we are most vulnerable.

We are told to hate each other

I don’t believe for one second that any human being is born hating other humans. You can just watch kids play together in a park to see that they really don’t care what another kid looks like. They just get on with the business of playing.

It is only as we grow and start to listen to the opinions of others, that we start to shape our own opinions. Mostly, we are influenced by our parents. If your parents don’t like something, chances are you will adopt this behavior. Even if only for a few years before you realize that you have your own brain and can think your own thoughts.

But even after that, we are influenced by what other people think, and most importantly, by the media. The media gets us all hyped up and this is when people get dangerous. Never before in our history has so much hatred been spewed over the airwaves. I keep saying that it is good because at least it is now open for all to see, instead of behind closed doors where it is really dangerous.

But having it all out in the open means that others are easily brought down the rabbit holes as well. I ask you this. Do you really hate the people you think you hate, or are you just jumping on some silly bandwagon that somebody has convinced you to get on?

Honestly, you need to really sit with that thought. Because I’m betting that deep down, you really don’t want to be mad and angry at other people. Isn’t it just exhausting?

Do things that make you happy

It is imperative in today's climate that we truly take the time to do things that make us happy. Just this morning I went out into my friend's yard and did a short walk around. Snow has fallen in this part of the world, and the winter wonderland that is just outside my door is magnificent. Getting some fresh air and breathing in mother nature has lifted my mood and gotten my head out of the doom and gloom cycle that it finds itself in when I scroll too much media.

It is important for all of us to do things that make us happy. We need to stop having these conversations about how bad the world has become, and we need to turn in directions and talk about things that make us happy. While bad things are certainly happening in the world, so many good things are happening as well.

We each have the ability inside of us to activate our happiness, we just need to do it.

Plus, I strongly encourage you to turn off the news. Just don’t watch it. I promise that life will go on and you will feel much better because of it.

Let us not fear for the state of the world

Even in the grips of WWII, there were countless areas of the world that were still enjoying peace and tranquility. When wars break out, they are usually localized to a particular country, and even a specific region within a country. Let’s not sit in our living rooms, glued to the TV, thinking that the entire world is fighting. It simply is not the case.

Of course, it is important to stay current and pay attention to things that are going on. But let’s keep things in perspective. Most importantly, let's check in on ourselves and deal with our own fears. From a place of peace and calm, we can then make sound decisions on how we feel about the rest of the world.

My partner and I will certainly be traveling again soon. We do not fear the dangers of the world and know, with certainty, that the vast majority of the world lives in a very peaceful state. No matter what media I consume, I know this to be true and my beliefs about this subject will never waver.

For further reading, I wrote this article one year ago while staying in Bulgaria:

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