The myth of "public panic"

In weeding through news about yesterday’s “thwarted” terrorist plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners, I was struck by this: government authorities and media appear panicked; everyday people do not. In fact, the general reaction to heightened airport security and the ban on “liquids” in luggage is one of understandable annoyance, not panic. This further quashes the Myth of Public Panic promoted by the State and its lapdogs during the so-called “War on Terror.” Just a month ago, sci-fi author/scientist David Brin effectively stomped on this myth in a blog post. Read it here.