Stephen Green says something that’s been rattling around in my head for the past two years now.

But are you terrorized?

Do you live in constant, unalterable fear?

For me, the answer is: “Hell, no!”

Dread is for the weak; defiance is, perhaps, the American virtue.

Defiance is the word that I’ve been searching for.  I’ve gotten really tired of the way we’ve been using the word “terror.”  Perhaps it fits into the worldview of the chattering classes, who might live in terror, but I think that’s a signal of their helplessness.  They’re used to living under the protection of others and taking no responsibility for their own safety.  The rest of us are more angry than anything else, and we’re ready to take it out on the first Islamofascist nutbag who tries something stupid.