It seems that people tend to focus their fears on the most dramatic threats - armed robbers, rioters, home invaders, (early life) cancer, plane crashes, and other dramatic big stuff. We tend to ignore or mitigate - in our thoughts - the real day-to-day threats.
The disconnect was brought home to me a couple days ago, when I was driving to work.
Now, that accident above could have been just a totally innocent snafu. But I doubt it. Someone was probably inattentive. Or a car slowed down too quickly to make a left turn. The dump truck was going too fast. Or the truck driver was unaware of the car planning a turn. Someone was most likely being unaware of one's environment.
I doubt that there were any sinister intentions in that accident. Though people do often drive aggressively and with a passion to harm their fellow drives, I doubt that the boogeyman reared his ugly head. No. I think it was the boogerman. The slothful, unaware, minor demon that lives within all of us.
Seeing the aftermath above reminded me of the several times over the past few weeks that I had saved myself on the highways and streets. Big rigs almost creamed my family twice. And I cannot believe the inattentiveness of drives making double lefts.
Fear's a good thing. But we often focus too passionately on the less likely threats. Sure, fear the boogeyman, but give the boogerman his due.