What we need to combat the culture of fear
By Douglas Todd
11 May 2009
(This column was part of the five-column package for which Douglas Todd won the 2008 Jack Webster Foundation Award for Commentary.
Fear is natural and inescapable. It can come as we try to cross a car-jammed street, or come through a dream, bringing existential dread.
But some fears are unnecessary; some are promoted by public figures.
Religious leaders have been known to take advantage of people's fear of death and especially the prospect of hell to demand unquestioning loyalty... Opportunistic politicians also play the fear card -- raising, for instance, a spectre of escalating murder and mayhem to attract voters to their law-and-order platforms.
It's called the culture of fear.
It's the use of fear as a means of control....
...But facing fears requires not freaking out. It calls for recognizing that life is risky -- and no leader can offer us absolute protection.
Dealing effectively with dread requires remaining grounded even when things are difficult. In today's culture of fear, in other words, staying calm amounts to a political act.
(emphasis mine)
Something to read, fearful ones; the political rebellious act of remaining calm while all the while the intrusive Cable-Eye screams at us its Five Minute Hate every hour.
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2 comments:
Yes, bravo.
I have stopped following many doomsayers because of their message of hate. It's one thing to remain informed (and try hard to find trusted voices), it's another to stay afraid.
My thoughts exactly. We know we are in a fix, its been going on a long time, and there's nobody but us to fix it.
Time to git 'er done.
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