Enough with the fear-mongering

Fear is a tactic used to manipulate the masses. Oppressive governments use fear to crush those crying for justice.

Organized crime and street gangs use fear for power. Entertainers use fear to sell thriller and suspense stories. News organizations use fear to gain audiences. Fear is used by many organizations to bring in followers. We are drawn to the adrenaline, to the heightened sense of awareness. While fear may protect us from danger, it can also lead us astray. There is a man who has spent the majority of his life living and maintaining an end of times shelter. Now he wonders if his life could have been better spent. “The End is Near” calls are as loud now as they have been since ancient times. People cling and prepare for eminent doom.

Unfortunately, fear blinds us to reason. Fear can make us followers of misleading ideas or brutal leaders. Indeed, the one thing we should fear, is fear itself, for it can truly destroy us as an individual and as a society. Fear can make us paranoid. Fear can keep us from listening to different points of view. Fear can divide us as a community. We need to listen and work with each other, to treat each other with respect and kindness. We need to cling to reason, to separate truth from fear-mongering. The challenges we face in life can be overcome if we learn to reach out and understand opposing views. We need reasoning to find truth.

CAROLE THORELL

Sandpoint