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Homeland Insecurity

A

proposed federal program to
provide security aid to nonprof-
it agencies deemed to be at high
risk of terrorist attack is making its way
through Congress.
It is a misdirected response to a hypo-
thetical problem — a piece of legislation
that would allow some interest groups
to claim they have done their best, but
unlikely to prove any real deterrent to
dedicated trouble-makers. By allowing
direct aid to sectarian institutions such
as churches, synagogues and mosques,
the measure also would breach an
important wall between gov-
ernment and religion.
The argument for the
measure is that these institu-
tions — museums, symphony halls,
hospitals as well as houses of worship —
are particularly likely targets and that
having to pay for security improvements
themselves would cut into the budgets
for their public service. The list of
organizations backing the idea includes
the United Jewish Communities, the
American Jewish Committee and the
American Jewish Congress along with
lobbyists for museums, orchestras, the-
aters and the YMCA.
There is no question that places like
museums and symphony halls and syna-
gogues are potential targets. But they
aren't any more likely targets than oil
refineries or subways or government
buildings.

Greenberg's View

The nature of 21st Century
terrorism is to strike in unexpect-
ed ways and at innocent places
— a nightclub in Bali is as good
as a Navy destroyer or an
American embassy. Throwing a
cordon of concrete barriers
around New York's Lincoln
Center or installing metal detec-
tors in a synagogue is simply
going to force the attackers to
strike somewhere else — maybe
the bus station or the Home
Depot or the multiplex.
The measure would
earmark $100 million a
year in direct
Department of
Homeland Security help to
organizations demonstrating "a
high risk of terrorist attack"
based on specific threats, prior
attacks against similar organiza-
tions, vulnerability of the site
and the symbolic value of the site. The
department could also make up to $250
million available for long-term loans for
security enhancements.
In national terms, that amount of
money is a Band-Aid that would cover
just a tiny fraction of the tens of thou-
sands of institutions that could be eligi-
ble. Security would be better served by
allocating the money to local govern-
ments that could set more informed pri-
orities for protection for their entire

EDITORIAL

community. Local governments then
could build into their stepped-up securi-
ty plans the most critical needs of syna-
gogues and other places of worship
along with other potential targets.
The most dangerous part of the pro-
posal, which cleared a Senate committee
last week, is that it would open the door
for direct federal aid to religious institu-
tions. Federal officials would have to
decide which among competing houses
of worship to fund, and that would
amount inevitably to government estab-

ake The World Go Away

W

e were cruising down one
of the streams that run off
Lake Bellaire. It was a lazy,
flawless July afternoon in northern
Michigan and every so often our
friend Kenny Lipson would throw a
fishing line into the water to see what
came up.
For a long while, we had the water
GEORGE
to
ourselves. Then a boat came
CANTOR
around the bend heading in the oppo-
Reality
site direction. A man was at the wheel
Check
and two children were waving from
the side.
At the rear of the boat was a woman, presumably the
wife and mother of the other passengers. She was deep
in conversation on her cell phone.
We all remarked upon it later. Here was the perfect
family setting, a chance to be together, apart from all
the distractions of daily life; and one member couldn't
tear herself away from her outside connection.

George cantor's e-mail address
is gcantor@thejewishnews.com

It reminded me of when I used to drive my daugh-
ters to school in the morning. For those few minutes,
we could talk and tell each other what we'd be doing
that day.
But every so often, I'd notice other cars in which the
daddy was already setting up appointments and taking
care of business on his cell. He couldn't even wait until
his child had been dropped off to begin.
How sad to let those precious moments go by.
Because they don't come again.
"The world is too much with us," wrote William
Wordsworth. And that was 200 years ago. The man
had never even seen a phone, cell or otherwise.
The advances in communications technology of just
the last 20 years have been staggering. Not only cells
but personal computers, Palm Pilots, interactive gizmos
— a panoply of stuff that binds us closer to the world
than ever before.
Cell phones are wonderful when you have car trouble
or get lost or need to reach someone in an emergency.
But for every gain there is a loss.
Cars give us the freedom of individual mobility, and
foster sprawl. Television brings images of entertainment

lishment of religion. In our system, the
synagogue cannot be deemed more
important to society than the Baptist
meeting hall or the Catholic cathedral.
Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey are on
the right track in trying to block money
to houses of worship.
Terrorism means to threaten our
institutions and values. But the over-
sight for how we protect them is as
important as the methods for how we
do so. ❑

and delight into our living rooms, and contributes to
obesity and a decline in literacy. Computers give us
unfettered access to information, and much of it is
wrong or worthless.
A recent study indicated that cell phones are danger-
ous to drivers, but not only when they are hand-held.
The mere act of talking on the cell is a serious distrac-
tion from the situation on the road.
There are only two people in the world who know
my cell phone number. I don't need to talk to anyone
when I'm driving. I'd rather be listening to Debussy's
Greatest Hits or Bette Midler singing the songs of
Rosemary Clooney. Those are distractions I can handle.
The night of our boat ride, we were sitting on the
balcony of the condo. It faces north onto the open
waters of Lake Michigan.
About 50 miles away, there was a tremendous thun-
derstorm going across the Upper Peninsula. The light-
ing seemed to flash all the way down to the water and
we could feel the wind from the distant storm sweep
across our faces.
We sat there fascinated. Without cells, without TV.
Just marveling at the timeless show of heaven. Fl

71 q

7/30
2004

39