The absurdity of fear over love

The American Center is in the middle of Geneva, a small office on the first floor (European, 2nd floor American) with lots of other small offices. I needed to get tax forms.

The building is totally open to whoever wants to come in. A suicide bomber could take out the building with no trouble whatsoever, but for the small US office why bother? One or two people are Americans the rest are Swiss or other nationalities.

When I stepped off the elevator, one security guard was seated. The second, a young man with drop dead beautiful brown eyes, came up to me. “You have to leave your bag here,” he said pointing to a table. He did not look inside so if I had had a bomb, it could have gone off.

“I need your passport.” He studied it comparing the photo to my face.

“Have you a cell phone or electrical appliances.” My bag would not hold a hair dryer and I had not carried any radios, TVs, washing machines, or electrical saws to the Center. I did mention the phone in the bag.

“Keys?”

I pulled them from my pocket.

He brought out the wand. I held my pocket change as he ran up and down my body, certainly more respectively than the guard at Frankfurt Airport in November who touched my vagina and breasts. There were a couple of beeps, which he ignored. I know my boots have metal in them.

“Why are you going inside?”

“Tax forms,” I said.

“Welcome,” he said.

The welcome after the ridiculous security brought on one of those hysterical fits where you can’t stop laughing. I giggled all through my requests for tax forms, which they didn’t have but promised to mail. When I came out, still giggling, I asked, “Do you realise how absurd this is?”

His drop-dead beautiful eyes crinkled as he nodded.

“At least you try to bring some sanity, by saying welcome.”

He smiled.

I then went to lunch with a friend who said the opposite of love is not hate but fear. It is fear that creates the absurdity we are now being subjected to. Perhaps if we treated the causes of terrorism we wouldn’t have to deal with these absurdities. Since what we are doing isn’t working it, why not try a new path?