In every history class since fifth grade we have been taught about the terrifying time during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, when the world was on the edge of its seat wondering if each day could be their last, and the beginning of a nuclear apocalypse. Schools held drills to teach children what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. During these drills the children would take cover beneath the one inch thickness of their wooden desks that in their mind would no doubt protect them against the nuclear blast and the immense fireball that would follow.

It may seem silly now, but it was a real fear then. While North Korea continues to threaten the United States, we may be inching closer to that reality than we did in the 50s. However, it seems like kids are not afraid and don’t really even care.

As a teenager in this day and age, the ever ominous threat of death is more a way of life than an interruption in our picture perfect lifestyle and appearance. Granted, when Hawaiians received a false ballistic report claiming “this is not a drill” there was cause for panic, but when our president posts tweets firing verbal shots at the leader of North Korea, a country that is well known for its communist ideals and hatred for America, saying “will someone from his depleted and food starved regime tell him the I too have a Nuclear button, but it is much bigger and more powerful one than his, and my button works” nobody stopped what they were doing except maybe to comment on the lunacy of our president basically comparing phallus size with North Korea’s supreme leader.

Perhaps we are not in constant fear because we are capable of distracting ourselves from the threats with the busy tasks of the day. There is too much work to be done, to be hiding in constant fear, every time another country shared their intent to bring harm to our country we shut down and hid, there would never be a sense of normalcy like there is today.

Senior Lucas Stetter says that there isn’t a point in worrying “because I can’t really do anything” in the event of an attack. Junior Julian Bonillas adds he is confident in America’s defense system and isn’t worried about Fort Collins, Colorado, being targeted or affected.

The sad reality is that our generation has grown up in nothing but constant war and nothing really scares us anymore. We aren’t sheltered, and although impending death is taken serious, it doesn’t change the way we live or control us in anyway. During the Cold War, mothers would not allow their children to play outside in fear of Russian advances; today we make humorous memes that make light of the situation in North Korea.

Although this coping mechanism has become effective, it’s unfortunate that we have become so numb to the potential for disaster, few people know that Tuesdays school shooting in Kentucky was the seventeenth this year, nuclear war isn’t the only threat we are ignoring, if people are already losing their lives to the negativity of current events, what will it take for people to start crying, and how long?

Time is of the essence.