The Culture of FEAR: Why Americans Fear the Wrong Things.
The reason why the author brings up Bob Garfield's findings is to show how people of special interest inflate the numbers and twist the facts to create fear in Americans. Bob Garfield finds the numbers published in Washington post, New York Times and USA Today, about serious diseases in Americans is over exaggerated and blown up. He writes "Either as a society we are doomed, or someone is seriously double dipping".
The evidence used to support "the more things improve the more pessimistic we become" is the fact that even though in 1996 the youth violence crime rate had fallen, Bill Clinton asserted in the following year that "We know we've got about six years to turn this juvenile crime thing around or our country is going to be living with chaos." The same thing was shown everywhere by print media, electronic media, almost everybody. By not laying out the facts or appreciating it, is wrong and unacceptable, but twisting and manipulating it is even worst.
When the real dangers of cancer are blown out of proportion, it can very easily lead to some adverse consequences. Many Americans overestimate the danger and risks involved and are quick to underestimate the odds of survival and chances of cure. For instance, women's heightened perception of risk, rather than motivating them to get check ups or seek treatment can have the opposite effect, which in turn is counter productive. The true statistical numbers we know is 1 in 250 women is at risk, but we normally hear that 1 in 10 is at risk, that is a huge difference.
The consequences of spending money on "panics" about crime, drugs, pedophiles etc as the author highlights is to prevent us from tackling the real issue. Rather spending money on education, economic development, could lead to reduction of crime.
Glassner's two-word answer to the two questions, "Why Americans are so fearful lately, and why are our fears so often misplaced?" is premillennial tensions.
