How a FEAR-based society is becoming our downfall
When was the last time you made a decision based solely on unsubstantiated fear, that yielded a positive result?
Most of us could agree there are some fears we collectively (or most of us) accept as ‘valid’, informing decisions we subsequently make, that keep us safe:
Not going off-path in the jungle where venomous snakes are perfectly camouflaged to attack their prey but we could inadvertently disturb and cause them to strike us without warning.
Not walking (or running) alone at night, especially if you are a woman.
If we accept these practices as potentially dangerous and thus we reasonably “should” have some fear associated with them, leaning into that fear and avoiding them in essence keeps us “safer” and increases the likelihood that we will not be harmed or die today, at least not from the aforementioned examples.
People DO die from snake bites across the globe, and while humans are not prey for any snakes, living in close proximity and agitating snakes who are venomous CAN and DO hurt and kill people. So yeah, fear of snakes is reasonable.
Walking or running alone at night, especially if you are a woman, CAN be dangerous and/or deadly. Indisputable truth. So yeah, fear of engaging in this activity and the people who may take advantage of that opportunity to inflict harm is reasonable.
These are not the type of FEARS that I fear are negatively impacting our society.
Some FEARS keep us small, limiting our life, and creating more distress that is unfounded yet created or invented to influence us without us consciously seeing this happening.
Fear can be an effective force to control society. It is used to divide people in a society and validate racist/bigoted/homophobic/etc ideas. The Nazi regime was skillful in its use of this during WWII. Spreading false propaganda about Jewish people and preying on the fears people within the community were already expressing enabled the regime to take over and exterminate millions of people within a race out of fears that were without validity.
Our current political landscape is FILLED with FEAR-based reporting, often with little to no factual data to support the concept. And yet, millions of Americans accept these “news reports” as facts because someone on a ‘news program’ is stating them as if they were true. This fear-based reporting of “news” is separating the collective, dividing families, and causing irrefutable harm to the fabric that holds our society together as “one.”
Venom is toxic and potentially deadly to humans. That is not up for debate. There is data to scientific data to verify this claim.
In contrast, people who identify as TRANS coming into the bathroom and stealing/molesting or “grooming” our children? Has absolutely NO valid data to support this fear, and yet, unfortunately, countless Americans have accepted this FEAR as something legitimate due to what they have seen on “the news.” There is no data to support this claim. None. Why don’t people ask to see the data? Show us examples of this happening! We as humans are creating something to FEAR out of a lack of understanding and not wanting to understand based on our own prejudice and hiding behind “religious liberties” as justification for discrimination.
The REAL risk that DOES exist in our society is for the safety of a person who identifies as TRANS to be either assaulted, killed, or harming his/herself due to the hatred and “verbal venom” they face every single day for just living his/her truth.
I love living in a world that is diverse, eclectic, and honestly sorta messy. I love the raw, real, vulnerable conversations that arise when I step into a space I know little about and simply ask or seek information to better understand. I don’t have to agree with everything everyone does to show kindness and respect. I don’t have to live in FEAR when I encounter something that is “other” than myself. And, I do believe these same people “news programs” are telling our society we “should FEAR,” are also children of the same GOD so many hide behind as validation for their discriminating behaviors and attitudes.
This can be applied to:
People within the LGBT-Q community
People who are Jewish, Muslim, or anything other than “Christian” in this country
People who have a different skin color than our own
People who are neurodivergent
People who are ….. “other”
People. People who are vulnerable. People the God I learned about as a young child called me to try to protect and care for in my life.
The one aspect every single one of these populations the “news” is telling us to FEAR is this: they are People! They are God’s people. Focus on your own life, your own ‘salvation’ and try practicing kindness and grace, especially to those who are in the most need. While it is easy to lean into the security of not being the target of discrimination when it does not personally impact you, know that our society is also very, very wishy-washy and how you, dear reader, might currently identify one day may be the source of FEAR from another….and I hope others, like me, will stand up for YOU just as I am asking for you to do for your fellow-humans right NOW!
“He who sees all beings in his own self, and in his own self all beings, loses all fear.” Isa Upanishad