Be Afraid

We live in a culture of fear; the institutions that shape so much of our lives, politics, marketing and the media, use our most deeply embedded emotion against us for their own gains. This short post explores how and why, and what we can do about it.

Without fear we wouldn't be able to survive, because it's the emotion that warns us about potential threats and urges us to protect ourselves against them. If you see a snake, fear kicks in; your heart-rate jumps up, you start sweating and adrenaline levels increase, all in preparation of measures to protect yourself. "Fight or flight" kicks in, or rather "fight, freeze or flight"; you either run away, try to injure or kill the snake, or you freeze in hopes that the snake will not notice you and leave you alone. Fear is good, it helps us stay alive and healthy, which is why it's such a prime emotion.

There's a problem however; once the "fight or flight" reaction takes over, rational thinking is shut off. And our leaders are all too aware of that. Fear is the one emotion that, if used properly, can manipulate us into making emotion-based decisions instead of rational ones. Living in a constant state of fear also wreaks havoc on our mental and physical health due to constantly increased stress levels. So, if you've ever wondered why discontent is spreading like wildfire, why Big Pharma score record sales, why suicides numbers are up, especially among the young, and why American society is breaking apart along political dividing lines, look no further that than the omnipresent and carefully manufactured culture of fear.

Political messaging often boils down to "do as I say, or else..." You know this is true. And you also know it's the right-wing that mostly uses this debilitating tactic. They're the ones who find most reasons for us to panic: terrorism, drugs, crime, immigrants, minorities and so on. And they always invoke the "fight" reaction, indicated by the frequent use of the word "war" as in the "war on terrorism," the "war on crime" and the "war on drugs." Now that they've openly expanded by adding a "war on abortion," they're increasing exposed as waging a "war on sanity" and a "war on democracy." Really, their fear-based tactics know no end; LGBTQ+ people aren't just deviants, no, they're out to get your children! The Democrats haven't won the election, no, they stole it. Trump's message was very clear, very simple: be very, very afraid, and I am the cure.

Democrats don't get away scot-free either; they're all to willing to capitalize on those fears themselves, even if they're no the ones bringing them into the world. The 2020 elections were saturated with one single message: be afraid of another Trump presidency. I can't fault that one though. But... They also used increased numbers in violent crimes to change "defund the police" into "fund the police," while the increased numbers were clearly caused by the pandemic due to, for example, people in abusive relationships stuck in the house together, or generally increased stress levels and decreased mental health. Politicians in general are professional liars and professional fearmongers.

Marketers are another group of professional fearmongers. When you see all the happy, smiling people in advertisements consuming ot using product "X," never forget the underlying message: "buy our product, or else..." Another deeply embedded trait in humans is belonging, the sense of being part of a community, which is another reason why we've not only survived but rose to the top of every food-chain and rule the planet. Marketers know this well and aim to play on our fear of not belonging. Buy the new iPhone to show you're not poor. Buy this car to show how important you are. Buy our food to show how concerned you are with the well being of the planet and all its creatures. Yes, it'll cost you money, but not buying them will cost you your happiness. Don't believe us? Just look at all these happy people in this shiny new advertisement we made especially for you!

The media also has known for a long time that fear sells. So does anger and outrage, but that's just another variation on fear. White supremacists would like to think that their feelings of superiority is based on pride, achievement, history and culture, but in reality they're just afraid, very, very afraid. And the same goes for male cis gender bigots. They're afraid of not being able to hold on to the lifestyle, culture and hierarchies they've come accustomed to. Which is ultimately just irrational because they're opposed to changes that are inevitable in a globalized and progressing world. The media plays on our fears for the same reason marketers do, which is to make money. We're much more likely to buy a newspaper with a headline that invokes outrage and fear, much more willing to click on a link that invokes a "fight or flight" reaction, simply because life goes on if we miss an opportunity for abundance, but it doesn't if we miss an important fear cue. And again I must stress that it's the right wing media that predominantly spreads fear, hate and outrage, they're the prime culprits in the culture war, even if they'd like you to think otherwise.

There's a lot to be afraid of, and it's on us to determine which of the many fears that are facing us are real. We can't rely on our politicians or media, as we now know that they want us afraid no matter what. The first thing to do is to try and be honest with yourself; don't shy away from your inner fears and try to recognize them for what they are. Only by being conscious of those fears can you examine them and rationally assess their validity and their source. Trying to be conscious of your fears postpones the natural "fight or flight" response that prohibits rational decision making. This delay also allows you to study the subject of your fears. Right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks there was an uptick in deadly car accidents. This was caused by many people choosing to drive instead of fly out of an irrational fear of becoming victim of the next aviation based terrorist attack. Statistically speaking the chance of dying in your car is exponentially higher than dying in a plane.

This brings us to the last defense mechanism I want to bring to your attention: don't blindly conform to "the norm," and don't blindly obey authority figures. Trumpists and right wing conservatives have a lot to learn in that department. I've never seen so much cognitive dissonance in action as when Trumpists are shown all the evidence refuting the Big Lie that the election was stolen, yet still they find excuses and rationalizations as to why all that evidence is false. How do these people not recognize that their "dear leader" gave them a false sense of safety and comfort by playing on their fears? Anyhow, I'll leave you with a video by Some More News about "The Devastating Impact of 'Fear of Crime' Politics"; see how crime statistics are manipulated by both sides in order to establish the fear needed to gain support for draconian policies.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts dear reader, I appreciate that a lot :-) If you like my content, please consider leaving a comment, upvote or resteem. I'll be back here tomorrow and sincerely hope you'll join me. Until then, stay safe, stay healthy!