Fear is a natural human emotion. It keeps us from danger, but sometimes harboring fear hurts us more than it protects us. Some fears are logical, while some are highly illogical and damaging. A fear of heights or spiders makes sense; however, a fear of a religion or a race does not. While individual fears usually seem to be logical, national fears, historically, seem to lead to the worst possible actions. Look at our own country's history of stupid and highly regretted decisions based in fear, because there are many: the Trail of Tears, Japanese Internment Camps during WWII, the Vietnam War, and the list goes on and on. Fear, on a national level, leads to rushed and rash decisions, which in fifty years causes young history students ask "Why would anyone do something so stupid?" Why would anyone do something so stupid? Because of fear. Because people in power took action and the majority of the public just followed their leadership without question.
To give a historical example, I want you to remember your history lessons about WWII and Hitler's rise to power. Hitler utilized the fear (and anger) of many German citizens in an effort to win the trust of the German public. Germany was in an economic depression and many German citizens were afraid of further economic decline. Many Germans also feared the rise of Communism in Germany, and there was a huge divide among political parties with no middle ground. But despite all of those contributing factors, a large factor of Hitler's campaign and his eventual win, according to BBC, was "The Nazis targeted specific groups of society with different slogans and policies to win their support." Hitler undoubtedly witnessed the fear among the average German citizen and used it to his advantage. As much as people today like to think of Hitler as a stupid man, while he was undoubtedly a horrible person, he was smart because he knew how to use public fear to his advantage, and we all know how that ended. Hitler, or a Hitler equivalent, is what happens when a nation lets fear dictate major decisions.
I think a common side effect of fear are the what-ifs that come along with it, and unfortunately, I have seen a lot of fear in the media in the last few years, and more recently, in the election. Fear allows other people to control you. They understand where your fear lies, and they prey upon it. These kinds of people are willing to say anything that you want to hear just in hopes of earning your trust. If you watch the news, then you'll realize how much of their programming revolves around your fear as the average American citizen. It seems subtle, but once you realize it, it's all you'll be able to see. Phrases like "Next, we'll tell you what household product is harming you and your family. Stay tuned; you might be surprised." This is how they pull you in. I've seen many Americans let fear rule their lives because many media outlets are spouting off information that has not been researched and is far from the actual truth. From vaccinations to household products to food, media and news outlets prey upon our fear for safety for our families and loved ones.
The American public needs to stop media and news outlets propagation of national fear. Most importantly, each voter needs to look at the candidates we are presented with and ask "Are they preying upon our fears?" We are better than this, America. We are not our fears. We as a nation must evaluate our fears and ask "is this a valid fear?" Guess what? Most often the answer will be no. No, our nation is not harboring healthy and logical fears, and we need to rise above these illogical fears. We are feeding fears that have and are leading to horrible decisions. Our rash choices will be remembered by our grandchildren who will ask us "How did that happen?" How did that happen? Fear.
