The Nature Of Fear
It’s often said that we live in a society that has great fear surrounding us. “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” goes the famous quote, but how often do people really listen to this message? While it’s of course important to keep ourselves safe and our families in good health, we can’t let fear get the best of us. It’s a great idea to make sure workplaces are safe, with fall protection and rail guard installed where they are required, but when keeping our own idea of safety intact borders on becoming damaging to ourselves and others, we need to rethink the kind of society we take part in.
The events of September 11 ultimately, had the largest effect on our perceived safety of the world. Terrorism was surely in existence, but it was not in the top of our minds. When the events occurred Al-Qaeda terrorists were quickly fingered as the perpetrators of the violence, and retaliations were eagerly put in place by the Republican administration.
The response made by the regime of George Bush and Dick Cheney is among the most controversial decisions since Vietnam. The decision to invade Iraq, a place where it was admitted Osama Bin Laden had no connection to, and the only noteable reason to invade was a large amount of oil stocks and a chance to engage in wider penetration into the Middle East, is one that was at first considered a conspiracy theory, but now is the majority view of the truth. There can be little doubt that the Obama campaign would have had little chance of success had the decisions of eight years of Bush’s reign not been so disastrous to American security.
It’s here that we can note an interesting irony about paranoia and the desire for safety. While many rallied behind Bush whole-heartedly as they believed this was best for our safety, the reality is that this giving into worry was what ultimately has made America a less safe country to be in, as the damage caused by the Iraq war to the global standing of America has been massive.
Today, there is another fear present in our world such as the fear of climate change and global warming. Is this fear valid? One of the major points of contrast between global warming and the threat of terrorism is that there is not a real enemy to fight against when it comes to global warming. In fact, those who trust that climate change evidence is present; are less and less likely to believe their government. A belief in a widespread terrorism threat, though, leads us to want to support the power structure that is currently in place.
In summary, we need to think deeply and well about any aspect of our lives that brings fear out within us. By disconnecting our thoughts momentarily from our fear, and looking dispassionately at the evidence involved, we can make an educated decision as to what kind of measures need to be taken to keep ourselves and our families safe.
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