Wussy nation: Our view

America has much to be cocky about. It invented large-scale democracy and nurtured its growth around the world. It vanquished fascism and communism, became the world's only superpower. And its entrepreneur-driven economy is again the envy of the world.

The nation has also long had more than its share of heroes — people such as Louis Zamperini, whose amazing story of survival during World War II is the subject of the best-selling book, and new movie, Unbroken.

Yet to look around the USA is to see fear and anxiety. If you didn't know better, you'd think this was a nation of wimps.

Take, for instance, the response to the Ebola outbreak. Millions of people worked themselves into a panic over a disease that has claimed the lives of fewer Americans this year than unsanitary caramel apples.

Or take the many universities so afraid of offending people that they have muzzled the very debate that is reputed to be one of their hallmarks. Perhaps the best example of this was Brandeis University's reversal of a decision to give an award to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born champion of women's rights and a fierce critic of Islam. Brandeis couched the reversal in terms of respecting religious values, but it and other universities have long accommodated people hostile to religion — people who don't happen to elicit death threats the way Ali has.

And, of course, take Hollywood's cowardly response after hackers broke into Sony's computers and threatened physical violence against movie-goers if The Interview were released.

Spineless theater chains and even cable companies refused to show the film spoofing North Korea's leaders. One studio, Paramount, even forbade some independent theaters from showing an alternative spoof of North Korea. New Regency canceled yet another movie, tentatively titled Pyongyang, before filming began.

Only after a week of remorselessly negative press, and a call-out from President Obama, did some cracks in this conspiracy of cowardice begin to form. Sony un-caved, and some independent theaters agreed to show The Interview as planned.

All of this raises the question of why so many are so scared. The chances of North Korean commandos coming to a multiplex near you are vanishingly small. Sure, it's possible that some deranged person could use the publicity around movies to commit violence. But that could happen anytime, anywhere, and is hardly reason to cower in fear.

Part of the explanation for the fear is the indelible scar left by 9/11. Part is the fear of lawyers and lawsuits in an overly litigious society. And part comes from a cynical age that has eroded faith in so many institutions.

All of these need to be tempered. The world's greatest and most powerful nation deserves people who exhibit backbone and have the confidence to live by their principles.

Not everyone can be a Louis Zamperini, who spent 47 days on a raft in shark-infested waters living off raw fish, birds and rainwater, followed by more than two years in harsh Japanese prison camps. But it would be nice if more people could at least stop acting like wusses.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

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