As spring segues into summer, school lets out for the season, graduates begin to seek employment, and the pace of life in Lawrence slows a bit, the time is also ripe for reflection and, on occasion, relaxation. As I look back on the past several years. it seems to me that these have been years marked by strife, anxiety and, above all, a sense of risk.

Internationally, we have fought wars and lost lives. At home, we have suffered through terrorist attacks, anthrax in the mail and an economy that has left millions of Americans in financial trouble. And, as if there could be no end, just as fears over a possible smallpox attack eased somewhat, first came SARS and now an occurrence of “mad cow disease” in Canada. And, of course, the media has jumped onto each issue and made the most of them. I think that the result has been to create a climate of fear in the United States and around the world.

During the Second World War, President Franklin Roosevelt told the American people that they had “nothing to fear but fear itself.” As the Battle of Britain raged above the British Isles and as bombs and then missiles literally rained down upon London and other English cities, Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke to the British people and encouraged them, as did Roosevelt, not to give in to fear. Thus it was that Londoners continued their daily tasks, so necessary to their eventual victory over Nazism, in spite of the very real dangers around them.

Perhaps it is time for all of us to remember that “greatest generation” and how they dealt with fear and danger and to put our own present risks into perspective.

Parts of the world today are virtually paralyzed because of SARS and yet far more people die of influenza each year than of SARS. Mad cow disease is a frightening disease about which we know too little, but, again, so far, very few individuals have contracted it around the world and the fatalities number in the hundreds. The likelihood of being killed by driving a car or by contracting ordinary flu or having a heart attack because of an unhealthy diet is far higher for the average American than that of contracting SARS, mad cow disease, or by being killed in a terrorist attack.

My own belief is that much of the blame for our new climate of fear lies with the media. Thanks to our ever-advancing technology, we can hear news of virtually anything happening anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes. Thus, if someone comes down with SARS in Bangkok, it will most likely be on the cable news within the hour. Modern news media make the whole world close neighbors and make us feel as though what happens thousands of miles away is happening in our own living rooms.

I can remember 40 years ago when one heard very little of what happened outside one’s own town and state. International news was infrequent. Further, one got the news from the newspaper and from the evening broadcast on television or radio. There was only a limited amount of time and space devoted to it. Today, cable news networks need to fill 24 hours each day with news, and that means what was never reported before is suddenly worthy of a headline. And, thus, we are bombarded by stories, most of them bad.

I think the answer to all of this is that we need to gain some perspective on risk and to remember the old cliche that a cup may be half empty or half full. Certainly, we should sympathize with those who are stricken by disease or harmed in war half a world away. Even more, we should do all we can to prevent such things happening anywhere, for in this we are all close neighbors. But, at the same time, we also must recognize that much of what we hear on the news is very remote from us and unlikely to pose any risk.

The odds that finding mad cow disease in one Canadian cow will lead to human infections in the United States are low, too low to justify on any rational basis a major drop in fast food stocks the day after the news report. This is simply a reflection of irrational fear. The fact is, Americans are very lucky people and we all ought to appreciate that.

As I write this, the sun is shining and the summer is approaching. There’s no question in my mind that our cup is nearly full. Lawrence is a wonderful town and, so far, has been fortunate to avoid such things as SARS, Mad Cow Disease and terrorist attacks. So, for the time being, at least, I suggest we put away our fears, or put them into perspective, and enjoy life in our home town.

And, perhaps, if we’re lucky, Fox News might decide to replace “The O’Reilly Factor” for the summer with a show that sets out to tell us about all the wonderful things that exist in the United States today and about why we should all be happy rather than upset. I, for one, would appreciate such a change.