Inrearendence Day

On this, Our Nation's holiest of holy days, I'm considering the nature of "terror". Believe it or not, there was a time the word didn't automatically connote organized cells of angry, disaffected, violent religious extremists. It wasn't always posited as the polar opposite of freedom. To me, freedom encompasses your license to seek out terror as a means of mundane happiness. In varying degrees, terror can be experienced in venturing to unfamiliar locations, in the cathartic danger of boarding a thrill ride, in the vicarious menace of a scary movie.

In all of these cases, we confront fears real or imagined. We can prove that we are stronger than those fears and subsequently feed from that strength, becoming less constrained by external influences and liberated from timorous inaction. As death metal teaches us, acknowledging that chaos is natural and necessary, that forces beyond our own control can cause irreparable damage, that we can die at any time is a way to confront our neuroses in a practical manner. Conquering your personal terrors will lead to peace of mind. Now that's freedom, my friends.

Today, enjoy a prime example of American terror (Leviathan: "Cut With the Night, Into My Heart"), and celebrate your freedom to scare the bejeezus out of yourself. Have a safe and fun holiday.