Under the old color-coded U.S. Government “Terrorism Alert” system, there was always an “elevated” risk of terrorist attack, a constancy that eroded away at the meaning of the word “elevated.” People just stopped taking the “Terrorism Alert” colors seriously.
That’s why, starting on April 7 2011 a new system was enacted in which the United States Government put away its general colors and instead issue particular alerts when particular terrorist threats arose. The United States Government would make a Facebook post of its alert here. The government would issue a Tweet here. All current and archived alerts would be posted to this web page.
As you can see at each one of those locations, in the entire 1,982 days since the new National Terrorism Advisory System, there has not been a single alert. The Facebook account for terrorism alerts? Empty. The Twitter account for terrorism alerts? Not a single tweet. The web page for National Terrorism Alerts has some general bulletins but not a single alert has been posted.
In 18 days, the United States will have gone 2,000 days without a single Terrorism Alert posted.
As political candidates of both parties roll out their hyperbole, keep this simple fact in mind.