When people panic, they can become hysterical, and hysteria often leads to mass violence. When politicians convince people that they are in a life-or-death battle – that survival is a matter of “us or them” – anything becomes possible.
纽约—可谓条条大路通政治灾难：贪婪、狂妄、魅力超凡又蛊惑人心的政客，但也许最危险的是恐惧。当人们开始恐慌时，他们会变得歇斯底里，而歇斯底里常常导致群体暴力。当政客让人们相信，他们到了“最危险的时候”——生存成为一件“我们还是他们”的事——任何事情都可能发生。