Last Friday we lamented the lack of common sense being exercised lately in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. Namely, bemoaning the overzealous obedience to the “if you see something, say something” philosophy that was giving rise to a rash of false bomb reports in the area and around the country.

One bomb went off somewhere, and suddenly every unattended box and bag in America was a bomb, too.

As is often the case, we poked a bit of fun at what were, in the end, pretty ridiculous situations. One has to admit, sending the SWAT team in to rescue the city from tea, Hallmark cards and homework is pretty comical. But there is a serious side to all this, and we’d be remiss in our public duty if we didn’t address it.

In talking about “if you see something, say something,” we are reminded of that scene towards the end of the movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” during which Daniel Craig’s character is caught snooping around the house by the murderer and is invited in for a drink. Craig knows he’s in trouble and should run away, but after hesitating, he accepts the invitation anyway.

One thing leads to another, and predictably, Craig finds himself tied up, suffocating with a bag over his head and seconds away from having his intestines cut out from his stomach before being rescued by the girl with the dragon tattoo.

During the exchange between the characters, the bad guy ridicules Craig for not obeying his instincts; he knew something bad was going to happen, but out of his fear of offending the killer, he went along with the killer’s demands — and ended up bound and swinging like a side of beef, about to be eviscerated.

This is a case where art imitates life, and we shouldn’t let the lesson pass us by.

The ISU Police Department puts on a free school shooting training program called Violent Incident Response Training, or VIRT for short. During this training, one of the officers will tell you that humans are the only animal on the planet that rationalizes fear. And he’s right: When we encounter a suspicious character, rather than leaving the room or otherwise reacting to protect ourselves, we figure in our minds, “Oh, he’s just a little different; it’s okay.”

We fear offending someone more than we fear the real possibilities of actual danger. And sometimes that fear has deadly consequences.

“If you see something, say something” is supposed to be a command for action. Humans often fail to act when they lack direction. As you would also see in the course, were you to take it, when faced with a horrifying situation, people will very frequently do absolutely nothing — that is, until someone else acts and shows them what to do.

Your fear is a gift. Many times our “spidey sense” tingles right before something bad happens. This makes sense because most of our brain function is unconscious, so it stands to reason we’re picking up on things we’re not aware of. Sometimes that weird feeling is spot-on and it’s telling you to react.

Yes, as we mentioned Friday, you must have common sense. But don’t ignore your other senses either. If you see something, please do say something. It just might save your life or the lives of others.