madness at noon

Yesterday at 12 noon, at my place of work, we had a two minute silence to remember the dead of the London bombings. Apparently this was repeated not just through Britain, but throughout Europe. We have given the bombers exactly what they wanted - they brought the whole of Europe to a standstill. Note that we chose not to remember the dead of road accidents, murders, cancer, etc. And we chose not to do anything that would reduce publicity for the bombers.

We give the bombers exactly what they want - maximum publicity, maximum fear, maximum disruption. Yet we claim to oppose them. How can this be? Evolution provides an answer. Evolution does not care what we think. It only cares what we do.

Politicians who spread fear get elected. Politicians who spread comfortable good news do not get elected. (Statistically, the average western person is safer now than at any time in history, but that won't get you any votes.) So the successful politicians are the ones who hate terror, yet act in ways that the bombers love. Ironic, eh?