But not all are worried. I'm the opposite of terrified. We'll also probably draw up a bunch of anti-superstition protest signs. It's going to be a great time. All across the country today, skeptical and freethought groups will be assembling in order to deliberately break traditional taboos.
Nobody really worries about the old-time taboos.
But a host of new superstitions have cropped up, and this is our way of criticizing them by association. The Campus Freethought Alliance cites widespread conspiracy theories, belief in alien abductions, and faith in alternative medicine as evidence that superstition is still a powerful force in America. Friday the 13th superstitions, too, remain potent. It has been estimated that each year the American economy loses a billion dollars from plane and train reservation cancellations, absenteeism, and reduced commece on the 13th of each month. Indeed, merely the personal anxiety and inconvience caused by Friday the 13th will ruin this day for millions of Americans.