Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life - Neil Strauss (2009)

Part II. FIVE STEPS

STEP 4: NOVEMBER 3, 2004

Lesson 10

It’s incredibly safe. We’ve never had terrorist threats or hijackings here. We’re like a forgotten country because we’re so far from everyone. We don’t worry about security like in America. And we don’t invade countries on false pretexts and make the whole world mad at us.”

Jane, a girl from Sydney I’d briefly dated, was trying to convince me to move to Australia, where the coastline is beautiful, the crime rate is low, and the people are easygoing and friendly.

I racked my brain to think of a hole in her argument. “But you’re pretty close to Indonesia. And the terrorist group that bombed the Bali nightclub a couple years ago is there. Doesn’t that worry you?”

“When the Bali bombing happened, a lot of Australians stopped traveling to Indonesia,” she answered, unfazed. “But as a country we don’t have any problems with Indonesia. I think the media and your president like creating fear in people, because when people are in fear, they remain docile. They don’t question things and are grateful to the government for protecting them. Over here, it’s like a little paradise. We enjoy what we have and don’t ask for anything more.”

“Well, there’s an election coming up here.” I found her enthusiasm endearing, though I didn’t take it seriously. Not yet. “So let’s see what happens. Maybe things will get better.”

“If you want somewhere even safer,” she said as I hung up, “there’s always New Zealand.”