Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Moral panic — defined on Wikipedia as ‘a widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society’ — has become our chief political currency. It’s in the driver’s seat. It has the wheel. And it manifests as a form of puritanism, also conveniently defined by Mencken: ‘The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.’ We can’t have that! Something must be done! There oughtta be a law! And the laws always come down less to prohibition than to permission.” (02/08/26)