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Gifts for all occasions in the Galleria! Subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list. The "What is the Deal?" Deal-of-the-Week: Save up to $20 on Roses at 1-800-Flowers.com! August 8, 2004 What is the Deal with Terror Alerts? By Jan A. Larson The terror alerts were elevated from yellow to orange in New York, Washington and Newark last week. Some complained that they were inconvenienced by the resulting traffic snarls. I wonder how inconvenienced they would have been if a truck bomb had blown up their workplace instead? Americans have short attention spans, but has it been that long since September 11, 2001? While many, including some on the 9/11 Commission, complained that there wasn't enough done to prevent the attacks of September 11, others are now complaining that they can't get to work on time. We can never know what might have been prevented each time the alert level is raised and some people are annoyed. Terrorists aren't going to send an email to say that they are going to park a white truck, license number BR-549, loaded with explosives in front of the Prudential Building at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The information about attacks will likely always be sketchy, will likely always be questioned and will likely never be definitive. In the absence of absolute, irrefutable proof that an attack will occur, people may be inconvenienced from time to time. When no bomb explodes, there is no way to know if the intelligence was wrong or an attack was prevented. The bottom line is that no bomb exploded. As the President has stated, if there is a question, he will err on the side of caution. It would be foolhardy to act in any other way. September 11 changed our way of life. If you make the claim that if we change our lives as a result of those attacks, then terrorists have won, then yes, they have won. We must either prevent attacks or endure attacks. Make no mistake, those that masterminded the attacks three years ago are not satisfied. They will attack again, sooner or later. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and wish that we lived in the carefree world we knew in 2000. In terms of the terror alerts themselves are concerned, the five-level color-coded scheme is simple enough for a five-year old to understand, but yet some decry it as being too confusing or too frightening. These are the same people too afraid eat a banana for fear of slipping on the peel. The purpose of the terror alert system is not to needlessly alarm the banana-eating public. It is used to not only alert law enforcement agencies but also to remind Americans that we are not living in a pre-September 11 world anymore, no matter how much we wish we were. Terrorists are likely living among us and we must all be vigilant, to borrow a phrase from the Department of Homeland Security. That call to vigilance involves not only the necessity to be aware of suspicious activities that may occur around us, but also the possibility of our normal activities being disrupted from time to time. A few minutes recalling just what happened on September 11 should be enough to put any inconveniences into perspective. -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
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