And once you (start paying the Dane-geld) give into that paranoia, that paranoia never goes away (get rid of the Dane); it just gets larger and larger.
The end state for the nations that sacrifice themselves to paranoia is that other nations that have managed to control their paranoid impulses take over the ones that can't, but that takes a while and generally leaves those conquered worse off than before. That said, inactions have consequences.
I don't feel paranoia. Maybe most people are fine except people who consume too much fear-driven media?
I mean, it's not like paranoid people are only paranoid about guns. They are paranoid about everything.