The Politics of Fear

When we went through security at Logan International Airport in Billings, Montana, a prominently placed sign warned that we were at orange, the high risk level. Admittedly, I had not been following the news very closely as the family gathered to celebrate Konner’s graduation. I thought to myself, what’s going on in the world to warrant the second-highest level of warning? I still don’t know. I always pose a security risk by having stupidly armed myself with a fake knee prior to 9/11. Had I known then what I know now, I probably would have just had it amputated. America’s theatre of fear has not gone away. There are many who benefit (dare I say, profit?) from convincing the masses that we need to be afraid, very afraid. My study of psychology informs me that anxiety is defined as fear of the unknown. That definition covers quite a bit of territory. We do not know the future. We can speculate, cogitate, surmise, and estimate, sometimes with surprising accuracy, but we never know the future with absolute certainty. Therefore, the fear-mongerers can take great advantage of maintaining the attitude of, well, you just never know. As a child, I don’t remember having a great deal of fear. I had to be taught. And it was for good reason that I was taught to fear (I like the word respect better) things like fire, electricity, etc. But fear of the unknown is more of a developmental acquisition that comes, I suppose, from the ability to abstract. The unknown is always present, but anxiety requires the seed of fear to be planted in order to take root. I don’t know about that thing over there, but it may do me harm. The prudent course, then, is to be afraid and avoid it. Prejudice becomes a defensive measure; better safe than sorry. To what degree do I let anxiety control my life? I’m afraid I don’t know.