Safety and Illusions

[drgndancer]

People are scared. I just read an article saying that many churches keep armed guards on hand during weekend services. The airports are full of security that would be trivial for a professional to bypass, but which is designed to show "presence". Kids go through metal detectors to get into schools, even in ares where gang violence is unheard of

Comments

[wechsler]

I heard a comment last night, I think it was from Randy Newman, that

"The previous mentality was 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself'.
Nowadays, we're all expected to be afraid of terrorism at all times, and what is terrorism but 'fear itself'?"

(slightly misquoted due to poor memory, no doubt)

[sunfell]

Fear is easy. It keeps people from thinking, and so it is callously used by people in power to keep their citizens in a state of mindless confusion. So, they pile it on, and everyone acts- either consciously or unconsciously- to amplify that fear.

The killer of fear is knowledge. The more you know, the less you fear. People in power do their best to not permit knowledge to dilute the fear they've built.

It's better to be afraid, but know what you're afraid of, than to be mindlessly fearful.

[mazikeen]

Yea, it's a culture of laziness - take the easy way out, and fear everything.

Personally, I think curiosity is more fun, but that's me.

[vicki_sine]

The biggest problem with fear, is that it creates the very violence that is feared.

And you spot on correct the solution is knowledge.

Unfortunately there is no way to deliver that knowledge in an atmosphere of obstinate ignorance.

In order for someone to learn, they first have to desire the knowledge.