Max linked to a good article about the current European culture of fear. As an American currently living across the pond, I definitely think that the “irrational fears” are worse over here than at home. Sure, Americans distrust the government, but the British distrust everybody. Back home in Indiana, the only thing I really feared was a car accident (whether from a drunk driver or hitting a deer). Here, though, we fear the trains, we fear the beef, we fear the cell phones. We have the disasters to back it up, too! Personally, my big current one is that “deep vein thrombosis,” seeing as how I’m flying to Sydney in less than two days. My doctor advised that I take half an aspirin and move around a lot, but after reading that article I think I’m going to be jogging laps up and down the aisles. (What about alcohol? Alcohol thins the blood, right? Bring on the cocktails!)
Edited 01/03/2025: Link is unfortunately dead now.
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