In a commercial for Subway, Jared, the company spokesman, is seen eating a sandwich by a group of people. They gather around him to accuse him of dropping his diet. In the end, he advertises a low-fat sandwich that appears to be a delicious high-fat sandwich. Most people don't think twice when they see such commercials. When I saw it, I asked myself whether I should care about Jared and his diet.

We are only one year removed from watching planes fly into buildings and hearing about invisible terrorist enemies. Every day the news gets worse and worse. In light of President Bush's message directing us to get on with our lives, I think it's great that we can – that we do – care about Jared. It shows that we don't live in fear. Personally, I don't care much for Jared, but he is an example of the millions of frivolous distractions in American life. There is no immediate threat to our safety, so it's okay to care about the mundane.

Conspiracy theorists from other countries must be perplexed by the American way of life. We don't seem to care about foreign affairs. Many of us live isolated from the rest of the world. We care only about the things that have an immediate effect on our lives. This is the best way to live for many of us. We don't get caught up in the things that don't matter. As the narrator of Fight Club emphasized, we should let the unimportant things in life slide by.

Some of us are so caught up in routines, whether they be school-related, work-related, or otherwise, that seeing people who care more about how many calories are in Jared's sandwich than homeland security comforts many Americans. There are people who are paid to worry about national security. The rest of us should go on with our lives.

The one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks was an important time for reflection, but in the interest of staying paranoia-free, we should continue our daily ignorance of the constant danger in which we live. Despite their constant blunders, the FBI and CIA are keeping us safe – or at least safe enough to harass low-fat sandwich eaters.