The Culture of Fear_ Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things - Barry Glassner [174]
19. In what ways and to what degree do “metaphoric illnesses” “help us come to terms with features of our society that we are unprepared to confront directly”? (153) How do metaphoric ailments and other unfounded fears and dangers serve as “critiques of major social institutions”? (163) What metaphoric illnesses does Glassner identify and what fears, prejudices, or political ideologies do these metaphoric illnesses justify?
20. Glassner writes of “a fundamental if regrettable reality” about “the persistence of fear in American society. A scare can continue long after its rightful expiration date so long as it has two things going for it: it has to tap into current cultural anxieties, and it has to have media-savvy advocates behind it.” (177) How have those two factors ensured the persistence of some of the major public fears and anxieties that Glassner discusses? What additional or other factors can you identify as contributing to the continuation of specific public panics?
21. In what ways do the media, despite an overall record of accurate reporting, continue to promote illogical fears, such as fears of flying? What explanations might be given for “this extraordinary feat of illogic” on the part of “journalists and the people they quote”? (184)
22. “In news coverage of aviation hazards,” Glassner writes, “as of other dangers the media blow out of proportion, a self-justifying, perpetual-motion machinery operates.” (201) How far does the author go in explaining the nature and causes of this “self-justifying, perpetual motion machinery”? “How do the news media minimize the excellent safety record of America’s airlines?” (195) How might we add to or fill out Glassner’s explanation?
23. To what extent might “the interests and experiences of those who oversee news organizations determine the content of the media”? (202) To what extent might this also be true of politicians, special-interest advocates, and other fear mongers? What other needs and interests are neglected when the public’s attention and public moneys are directed by these special interests and experiences?
24. What are some of the underlying social or cultural anxieties to which specific public fears give expression and which are, at least momentarily, alleviated by those fears? To what extent are these fears “oblique expressions of concern about problems that Americans know to be pernicious but have not taken decisive action to quash... ”? (209) What are some of those serious problems, and why don’t we deal decisively with them rather than expending time, energy, and—in many instances—huge amounts of money on the alleviation of phantom fears?
25. Where, and to what degree, do Glassner’s presentation and arguments challenge positions advanced by conservatives? Where, and to what degree, do they challenge positions advanced by liberals?
26. In what ways might Glassner’s arguments and insights enable us to appropriately address issues and topics that prompt exaggerated or unfounded fears today-for example: weapons of mass destruction, childhood autism, job losses, and terror alerts? What fears are paramount today? In what ways—and why—are the various media, including advertising, misrepresenting or exploiting these issues and fears?
27. To what extent does Glassner enable us to distinguish unfounded and exaggerated fears and concerns from the genuine? To what extent does he enable us to recognize and effectively deal with both kinds of fears and threats?
Written by Hal Hager, Hal Hager & Associates, Somerville, New Jersey
INDEX
AAA. See American Automobile Association
ABC criticism of
“March Against Drugs” and
ABC World News Tonight
on Halloween crimes
on heroin
on juvenile crime
on road rage
Abduction laws
Abortion
breast cancer and
child abuse and
Accident Analysis and Prevention, airline crashes and
Advertising, and crime coverage
ACEP. See American College of Emergency Physicians