Where Are You Safe? Roberts’ Rules by Stanley Roberts
In these days of threatening terror, where can a person feel safe? The federal government tells us that the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge are no longer safe places. Since I’m going to NYC a few days after writing this, we can certainly avoid those places. Then we’re told that apartment houses, presumably large ones, aren’t safe havens, as terrorists could rent an apartment and set off a bomb. Perhaps everyone who can afford it should immediately buy a single-family home or at least move to a less dense location.
These kinds of warnings may be necessary, but in this era of irresponsible media we live in, the press hypes threats not as a public service, but as an attempt to create more sensationalism in order to “sell more newspapers.” On the other hand, most Americans are in denial about the fact this nation is at war, and that some of us may get hurt or killed. By thinking about this, and what it may mean to us, we can certainly better understand what the poor citizens of Israel undergo daily, as they try to live their normal lives.
So, if safety is an issue in your life, where can you feel safe? Can we fly in planes? I think so. The government has beefed up security measures in the airline industry, and, it is unlikely the same methods of terror that escaped our vigilance on 9/11 will happen again. Although plane accidents are always sensational and get front-page attention in the media, the 40,000 people who die in automobile accidents every year are far more significant, numerically. It was and is far safer to fly than to drive, per passenger mile.
What about large public gatherings? They’re probably okay as these are usually well policed and do not offer the damage potential of a large building. How about government buildings? If you’ve been in one lately, you’ll know these are reasonably safe now.
What about casinos? If you think about this clearly, you are probably safer in a casino then in most other places. Large casinos have security personnel always at hand, unlike city streets where it is sometimes hard to find a policeman. There are cameras everywhere and security personnel are not only monitoring them, they are recording activity, which makes it far more difficult for a “perp” to get away with a crime. A recent incident among outlaw biker gangs in Harrahs’ Laughlin shows us how well we are protected in a casino. Although a few people were shot, they were all the “bad guys.” No innocent bystander was hurt, and, the security team immediately captured these thugs. Well done, Harrahs’ Laughlin.
Not only are we safe from terror in a casino, we are also close to immediate life support. Since 1998, over seventy-five people have had their lives saved or at least prolonged by the use of automatic external defibrillators in Harrah’s casinos, not to mention countless others saved with CPR and other emergency measures applied by Harrahs’ well trained personnel.
Although security measures were originally created to protect the casino’s money, they have evolved into an ambience that makes a casino one of the safest places you can be in these times of threatening terror. So, feel good about your next casino visit, but don’t get too complacent as you go about your business. Remember these words of Edmund Burke: “Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty.”
