I just don't feel it, but I sure as hell see it. So many Americans seem to be living in a perpetual state of fear.
That's not to say we don't have issues worth being concerned about. Wages are stagnant and plenty still financially struggle, ISIS is the epitome of evil and our election season has been a circus at best and exceedingly divisive at worst.
But to only dwell in the fear of all of this to completely ignore that the economy and jobs market has been trending upward for the better part of seven years now, our military and intelligence community have become very adept at fighting Islamic Extremism and politics are always murky, especially in an election year.
Yet so many people latch on to this irrational fear, viewing things as much worse than they truly are. Why is that? Where does it come from? Who is at fault?
I think people who've fallen victim to the fear aren't necessarily victims at all. They live in the most powerful and rich country in the world and many of these fear fans live a life of privilege by any objective measurement. Most Americans have an inherent advantage over the vast population of the world yet so many act as if the end is nigh.
While there are trials and issues worth tackling, it's worth noting that throughout the whole of human history charlatans have used fear to further their own agenda, often their own rise to power. Remember, every time a citizen buys into the fear, someone is getting a little closer to achieving exactly what they want.
Don't believe me?
Let's look at the media. Tell me, when was the last time you saw headline or heard a news anchors say, "Everything was fine today." It doesn't happen. It never will because it never sells. A mantra in journalism is "If it bleeds, it leads." Sure, much of that is human nature. We have predisposition to rubbernecking on highways as we pass the scenes of horrific car accidents. If a train was about to hit a stalled-out car on the tracks, would you look away? I know I wouldn't.
Quite frankly, we're just as much informed by violent events as were are entertained by them. It's exciting, borderline addictive. A news junkie, like myself, can easily be a violence junkie as well. ISIS blows up a Brussels airport, a concert hall in Paris or a convention in Southern California and our eyes our glued to the TV. It's not enough to know the essentials what happened. No, we crave every gruesome,gory eyewitness detail we can get our hands on.
And as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, someone with a message of fear swoops in and tells you that the odds of such acts of violence, terrorist or otherwise, are increasingly likely to happen to you -- that is, unless you elect them, of course. They'll never mention how for the past 15 years our intelligence community and military evolved from a Cold-War build and mindset into one custom made to tackle Islamo Fascism.
Are the defenses full proof? Obviously not. But why talk up how much better we've become at tackling this threat when one can portray Armageddon to get a few more votes?
Ahh, but the fear and false prophets don't just use the fear of terrorism to advance their aims. No, anyone different from the majority can be labeled as a liability on a good day and an existential threat on another. Mexico is only sending us their rapists and murderers. Most or all Muslims want to destroy us. Blacks only want to shoot each other and hate all cops.
I obviously don't endorse these sentiments, That doesn't mean they don't litter my Facebook feed on a nearly daily basis.
I'm pretty sure the Mexican landscaper with a wife and three kids and no criminal history other than sneaking into a country to give said family a better way of life is far from a rapist and murderer. I'd think that if all 1.6-billion Muslims, a quarter of the world's population, wanted to destroy America we would have a lot more than ISIS to worry about. I know not all blacks hate cops, seeing how there are black cops and all ...
Fear is a natural human condition. Try getting shot at and not feeling fear. It's not going to happen. The important thing is to overcome fear, not succumb to it. Yet so many of us choose to. In doing so, we surrender our objectivity and rationality. I'd even go so far as to argue we forgo much of our morality as well, caving into the darker, tribal corners of our nature.
Ultimately what I'm here to tell you is that while it's not all good, it's certainly not all bad. In 2008, many of the cynics said Western Civilization would cease to be in a few years, but here we stand. Beware the false prophets that wear suits, wave holy books or wear tinfoil hats. (At least the guy in the tinfoil hat is sincere in wanting to help you.) False prophets' predictions only come true when enough people succumb to the fear and self-fulfill them.
When you see anyone in positions of or currently pursuing power in any and all of its forms producing, promoting and perpetuating fear, don't fear their claims. Fear the fear mongers.
