Danger

 

  How dangerous is the world? That depends. If you look up Somalia or Libya on the Wikitravel website you’ll be warned that if you go there alone, you’ll definitely be killed. If you must go there, you’ll have to coordinate your travel with your home government, and once you get there, hire a small army to protect yourself.

  The problem with countries like Libya and Somalia is that their governments are broken. We may complain about our government, but a strong government ensures we can travel alone in a strange city and  expect not to be kidnapped or killed. 

  But bad things happen even in well regulated places like the U.S. On this day in 1997, Timothy McViegh was convicted of murder for his role in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. He was an anti-government extremist. Also on this day, in 1919, eight bombs were set off around the country by anarchists. Two people were killed, one of them being a bomber. 

  On a larger scale, this is the day in 1793 that is considered to be the start of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.  The revolution had begun in 1789.  Enemies of the revolution were gaining strength both inside and outside France. The leaders decided the only solution was to execute their enemies, often without a trial. Many thousands lost their heads. It was the start of a very dangerous ten months. 

  And on an even larger scale, it was on this day in 455, that Vandals sacked Rome. They only stayed two weeks, but the event marked the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire which collapsed in 476 when the last emperor was deposed. This was followed by several centuries of Europe being one big Somalia. Meanwhile over in the Tang Dynasty, people could walk around safely at midnight, coming from or going to their tea house poetry readings. 

“His poems about a coming Mongol dystopia crack me up.”