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Last Night’s Dream

Fear can fill dreams with chaotic thoughts and worrisome images, producing lasting feelings of disquiet.

acrylic on canvas/ 32” x 26 “/ gold painted wood frame/ $498

Fear Itself

In his first inaugural address, President Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have  to fear is fear itself.”  This comment holds true today when the public is frightened by those using fear as a method of control. Their system is working. Last week I heard an elderly woman say she was afraid to leave her house because of mass shootings and immigrant terrorists.  Churches, synagogues, mosques and schools are moved to develop active shooter plans. 

The U.S. does have a staggeringly high number of active and mass shooter incidents compared to other developed nations. In 2017 there were 29 such events. And,  the number of incidents has risen steadily since 2000 when there were four. Hopefully a record won’t be set for 2018. This week’s tragedy brings the horror of terrorism to the surface. Have you noticed that domestic attacks are primarily caused by white men who are U.S. citizens? 

However, as terrible as these incidents are, they are nothing compared to the number of fatalities on our highways. And, though 37,133 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2017, driving does not elicit the same fear as imagining yourself as the next victim of a mass shooting.

Interesting statistics:

• You are  35,079 times more likely to die from heart disease than a terrorist attack.
• You are 4,706 times more likely to drink yourself to death than from terrorism. 
• You are 2,059 times more likely to kill yourself than die at the hand of a terrorist. 
• You are 452 times more likely to die from risky sexual behavior than terrorism.

We’re told that illegal immigrants commit more crimes than American born citizens. Yet, when Alex Nowrasteh with the Cato Institute analyzed Texas data to make a comparison he found that “The arrest rate for illegal immigrants was 40 percent below that of native-born Americans and the homicide arrest rate for native-born Americans was about 46 percent higher than the illegal immigrant homicide arrest rate.” National statistics are similar.

 The examples continue on. So why the hype? Why the fear?  It may be because when behind the wheel, you think you are in control even went drunk or sleepy, while in a mass shooting you know you are not. Emotions have little to do with statistical reality, but by paying attention to facts, you can learn to control fear. The truth might also make one wonder about the exorbitant amount of money spent on protecting ourselves from unlikely scenarios. If the same amount of money was given to patrolling highways and increasing grants for heart research, the death rate would decrease. 

In 2016, Donald Trump said “People are scared.” He got that right, for they are. According the the Atlantic, Americans are afraid of crime, though rates are down, of a terrorist attacks and of frightened unarmed immigrants. Politicians are masters at invoking fear in abstract ways to improve their chances of winning. 

The Atlantic goes on to say, that according to social scientists, “It (fear) makes people hold more tightly to what they have and regard the unfamiliar more warily. They crave protection. The fear reaction is a universal one to which everyone is susceptible. History shows it has the power to bring people to the polls to vote out of their usual way.”  I see  fearful people  as people looking for  “Daddy,” a strong individual who promises security though there is no threat. And, I see politicians as play actors protecting their flock from imaginary giants they created in the first place.

I witnessed this behavior pattern when president of OMSI.  One year we brought an animated dinosaur exhibit to the museum that frighted some of our younger visitors. Many parents, rather acknowledge that their child was too young for the display, held them in their arms and forced them face the monsters saying,”Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. No need to be afraid.”  Through their children were terrorized, parents thought their fear to be cute and funny.  It gave them an opportunity to be protectors and save their youngsters from imaginary demons.  

“The Politics of Fear” by  Frank Fured  begins, “Fear is the most powerful enemy of reason. Both fear and reason are essential to human survival, but the relationship between them is unbalanced. Reason may sometimes dissipate fear, but fear frequently shuts down reason.”  

Fear is often employed for political gains.McCarthy incited fear over communism that caused thousands of innocent people to lose their jobs. In the 1990’s Clinton didn’t want to be called soft on crime so he spoke of “super-predator”criminals, stirring a fear fueled by sensational media which pushed mass incarcerations.  After 9/11 fear was used to rally support for the illegal invasion of Iraq, and to sanction use of waterboarding. 

Machiavelli said, “ It is better to be feared than loved.” This past year, his sentiment was elevated to epic proportions in order to scare people into submission. The latest one is about citizenship. The idea that children born in the United States to immigrant families will be denied citizenship is ludicrous. If we take that idea back far enough, the only remaining people left to populate our country will be Native Americans. 

During the mid-term election, there were ads claiming opponents to be dealing in drugs, the cause of crime waves and the spread of gangs, such as MS-13. Lies were told about people of color, women, Muslims, gays and Jews.  Democrats were told to fear Republicans and  Republicans to fear Democrats. And, oh yes, we should all hate the media.  We are told it is better to trust biased tweeters with questionable sources.

Unfortunately, fear is used so often and in such Machiavellian ways that it’s destroying the fabric of our country.  I am surprised people don’t see through tactics that are blatant bids for power, ones to keep people trembling until they fall in line. Once fear takes over, they will let political leaders approve tax cuts for billionaires, deny global warming, allow bad air quality in their communities, permit production of unhealthy food products and ignore overfishing. They'll consider cuts in entitlement programs and health care for middle and low income citizens. They’ll look the other way when ammunitions are sold to our enemies, making millions for dealers. 

Whatever happened to “Love thy neighbor as thyself?”  When did we stop believing in the common good, the melting pot, an American dream for all? The time has come to ignore divisive rhetoric and return to rational thinking and behavior. When you hear fear-talk, ask yourself who benefits? Certainly take sensible precautions and be aware of your surroundings, but don’t go overboard.

Instead, heed Roosevelt’s words and stop fearing fear itself. 

References:

University of Alabama (2016).Pubic Mass Shooters and Firearms: A Cross-National Study of 171 Countries. PubMed. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26822013.

Alertfind (2018) Active shooters in 2018: Key Stats and Facts. Disaster Recovery Journal. retrieved from https://www.drj.com/myblog/active-shooters-in-2018-key-stats-and-facts.html

Traffic Safety Facts (2018) 12017 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview.  U.S. Department of Transportation. retrieved from https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812603

Farley, R. (2018) Is Legal Immigration Linked to More or Less Crime? FactCheck.org a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.  retrieved from  https://www.factcheck.org/2018/06/is-illegal-immigration-linked-to-more-or-less-crime/

McClatchy, (2011)  The Terrorism Statistics Every American Needs to Hear. Center for Research on Globalization. retrieved from http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-terrorism-statistics-every-american-needs-to-hear/5382818

Ball, M. (20116) Donald Trump and the Politics of Fear. The Atlantic. retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trump-and-the-politics-of-fear/498116/

Abramsky, S.(2018) Trump’s GOP is running harder than ever on the politics of fear. Los Angeles Times. retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-abramsky-trump-politics-of-fear-midterms-20180923-story.html

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