More than a few politicians have won elections by stoking the fears of the American people. In the analysis of historian Elaine Tyler May, it has become increasingly easy to do.
From the middle of the 20th century and onward, May tracks a rising obsession with security--one she says has actually made us LESS safe. May lays out the case in her book Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy.
Look at prison populations, gun laws, and gated communities; the book references all these and more. The author joins us with further analysis.
