People relish fear. Massive subcultures coalesce around terror objects, whether they’re real or imagined.
The religious guard their fear of the disapproval of a vengeful deity which, they tell their children, will lead them to be subjected to torture for eternity.
Libertarians live in a state of anxiety about the secretive machinations of the government, certain that only they and their allies stand between our ruling fascist cabal and totalitarianism.
Statists cultivate their fear of terrorists like a precious orchid, periodically watering it by reading sensationalist stories in the media. The state itself sows the seeds of actual future attacks. An AC-130 is a flying Johnny Appleseed of murder, casting hot lead from the sky into the Middle East.
People do respond to incentives, but what those are not always obvious. The true explanations for human actions are rarely even known to the individuals that take them, as acquiring self-knowledge requires a fierce battle that few are willing or able to fight.
The hysteria concerning the economic depression has become almost complete, and few – even habitual media critics – have taken it upon themselves to question why the press performs the seemingly irrational function that it does in cultivating this fear in readers.
Properly used, fear is a cue to a person that they need to increase their awareness of their environment and then to take action to protect themselves. If you meet an angry Kodiak while hiking in the woods, you’ll feel fear until you either reach safety or when you’re completely digested.
The fear instilled by media coverage of the ensuing global financial catastrophe has significant value. Businessmen will be more conservative with their investments and the average person will reduce their expenses while taking steps to remain securely employed.
That would, of course, be that, except for the fact that people prefer to nurture their fear rather than to use it for it’s intended purpose – as fuel for rapid action. Unused fear rots in the body, leading to heartburns, bloating, pains and a senseless and crippling fatigue.
You can detect this contagion in just about any conversation that you’ll have these days – people seem all too happy to shrink their horizons as soon as possible, in response to the obvious subtext of the mad edicts of our bald and bearded overlords:
THOU SHALT BE DEPRESSED.
Depression provides relief from fear; it’s a weak sedative. Like any drug, it doesn’t get rid of the emotion that you attempt to avoid, and you need to turn to it more and more to blot out your essential self.
“The economy has gone bad, I must give up my dreams. I should settle for something below my abilities in order to scrape by.”
Many people make choices like this every day of their lives – bowing to pressure from parents, friends, and abnegation. It becomes even more socially acceptable to do this – to shrink yourself – in response to the powerful signals sent from every corner of society.
You’re free to bury yourself if you like, you can roll over, marry someone who doesn’t love you, drink yourself into a stupor every night and stick to the safe and familiar. I prefer the struggle. It takes courage and a rare strength to stand when the whole world screams at you to writhe around on your belly with your nose immersed in wet filth.
This is how the masses live – our masters sit upon the grovelers, crawling upon a howling carpet of human beings convinced that they are worms. In the shadow of this, it becomes obvious as to why it is so easy for so many to believe that hell is a real place.
It’s pathetic to watch otherwise intelligent writers urge their readers to petition their masters for relief from the economic crisis – begging to be spared the whip, or perhaps for a few crusts of bread. If you want to live well, stop acting like a slave. Stop looking to your masters with expectant eyes and a lolling tongue.
Stand instead – and open your eyes.
Impression, soleil levant - Claude Monet, 1872
1 Comment
September 26, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Brilliant! This is so relevant to the latest article and what I wrote on my blog today. I’m gonna link your blog on mine.