This just in: the sky isn't falling. Much.

9/11, the London Tube bombing, tsunamis, Hurricane Katrina, cholera epidemics in Guinea-Bissau, polio in Minnesota, avian flu, dog flu, the inevitability of a major human pandemic coming soon. The world is freakin' scary these days. But maybe we can take comfort in Helen Keller's words:

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Or, better yet, this: your fears—at least those about war and violence—are not based in reality.

According to the Human Security Report, there's no reliable data suggesting the world is more violent. The actual number of wars, deaths through wars, and violent conflicts has decreased, the report finds.

Of course, the US federal government seems utterly unprepared—Katrina-style unprepared—should an avian flu outbreak hit the US. So start your worrying there.