We Have Nothing to Fear

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“We have nothing to fear but fear itself”

FDR

“The two biggest fears in the USA, according to polls, in this order:

2: Death

1: Public Speaking

I suppose that means that most people who would go to a funeral would rather be IN the box than the guy giving the eulogy.”

Jerry Seinfeld

What is there to fear but fear itself?

Discuss.

We are living in a culture of fear.  It’s the same as the fifties, really, except the fears are different.  Those in power would have you believe that terrorists are to be feared.  What are the odds really of being killed by a terrorist?

Next, have you noticed what TV shows are the most popular? Crime shows, reality TV, Lost, and comedies.

Now, clicker in hand flip between these shows during prime time…..

Scary, no?

In Nazi Germany, the government, which was democratically elected, had people keep their radios on at all times.  How many of us willingly leave our TVs on just “for background noise?”  What’s so scary about silence?

I asked my parents what they fear.  They both said that they fear death, not because they fear death itself, but the fact that it would leave me helpless.

My mother watches an enormous amount of television.  It staves off boredom, she says.  She falls asleep in front of the TV. 

So back to fear.  What are we really scared of? Death? that’s a fact. Boredom?  Fact. suffering? Fact

Kierkegaard once said that the root of most people’s anxieties lies in the fear of death and suffering.  But he says that these two things are facts of life.  You will die.  You will suffer. These are facts. Period.

So really what are we afraid of?

There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

so says I.