In spite of the long period of U.S. economic growth, violence and uncertainty have led to the mental strain and even paranoia of a people under siege.
by Gary Petty
A few months after the tragedy at Columbine
High School in April 1999, I sat with a group of children ages 6 through
12 discussing changes in their schools since the shooting. It was astonishing
to hear first and second graders describe passing though metal detectors,
undergoing backpack searches and in more than one case, having classes
shut down due to bomb scares. The confusion and fear were obvious.
How many photographs have we seen over
the decades from Northern Ireland, the Middle East or Africa of the
haunting look in a person's eyes as he or she peers from battle blackened
buildings surrounded by barbed wire? The fearful eyes of people under
siege. A similar strain is beginning to show in the United States as
people suffer under violent siege from the nation's own citizens.
The United States is currently experiencing
one of the longest sustained periods of economic growth in its history,
yet the stress of a hedonistic, violent and increasingly morally valueless
culture has created a kind of siege mentality.
The strain leads to paranoia. The recent
Y2K panic was a symptom of siege mentality as some people stockpiled
guns and ammunition anticipating anarchy. We've all heard of people
who locked themselves in their apartments, shotguns on laps, waiting
for looters to barge through the doors to steal their carefully hoarded
food.
An example of siege mentality is given
by Charles R. Swindoll in his book The Quest for Character. A
California artist named J.H. Zorthian became anxious about his children
being killed in a car accident. He put his career on hold to spend
time and money devising a plan to protect his children from harm.
Zorthian purchased isolated property on
a mountain with a long, twisting road as a driveway and built his hideaway
house. He designed and built a safe fenced play area. The garage was
made so that only his car could enter and he was about to finish a
driveway turn-around that would mean further safety. Rain delayed construction.
On the day the turn-around should have been completed Zorthian's 18-month-old
son dashed behind his car as he was backing up and was killed.
