There is no fear for one whose thought is not confused. These were the sage words of wisdom found inside a fortune cookie recently. Stated more simply these words mean lack of confusion prevents fear. Does this mean confusion causes fear? No. But it does render one more susceptible. It could be said that confusion leads to fear, but what does fear lead to?
In Episode One of the Star Wars saga George Lucas explains it beautifully through the voice of Yoda, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Suffering. Fear incited the Inquisition, and the Inquisition caused suffering. Fear evoked the Salem witch burnings, and the witch burnings caused suffering. Fear prompted the creation of the atomic bomb, and the atomic bomb caused suffering. Fear has provoked the human race to engage in some of the stupidest actions possible…which in turn have caused some of the most intense suffering.
Most people fear that which they do not understand; that which confuses them. Mere lack of understanding, however, is not a favorable reason to be fearful. And yet, history is replete with examples. Some feared a ship that strayed too far out to sea would fall off the edge of the Earth. Some feared the American Indians who had arrows when they had guns. Some feared a nuclear attack from the former Soviet Union even though they were just as haunted by the same fear. (Actually, that fear can be understood after what the US did to Japan) Today many Americans fear their freedom will be taken away by another county, while we are the most powerful nation on this planet and have been for quite sometime.
Fear is not evil or wrong. Without fear, courage could not exist. There is nothing wrong with being fearful in the face of true danger. Fear is a normal healthy emotion designed as a warning mechanism to help us avoid injury. When a caveman saw or heard a Tyrannosaurs Rex he was afraid, and for good reason. Fear let him know it was time to boogie out of there and back to the safety of the cave. Without fear he would have just stood there picking his nose clueless to the fact that he was waiting to be eaten. This would have severely hindered the development of the human race to say the least. The problem lies not in that we feel fear, but in that some of us have learned how to use it as a tool against others of us.
This tool has been used by the rich, powerful, and influential since the beginning of human understanding to subjugate the poor, meek, and inconsequential. Kings used fear of their knights and armies to keep their subjects subservient and their lands vast. Religion uses fear of eternal damnation to keep its adherents faithful. Our own government has used fear of terrorism as an excuse to invade a sovereign nation.
Aren’t all wars caused by fear?
Is this possible? I leave it to you…
i believe fear is the core motivation for public support of most, if not all, wars...
ReplyDeleteThe cynical conspiracy theorist in me says that the motivations for those who stir up public fear to create an outcry for war are really just profit and control, not necessarily in that order. War and all the directly connected industries are huge business! War makes profits soar.
To put it on a personal level, allowing fear to take hold of one's decision-making removes any real chance of personal power by said one. As long as we choose to acknowledge our fear and then deal with it from a place of love, we remove power from whatever or whoever is the source of the fear...
i think in some cases there might be a shared final decision settled upon by both those acting from fear and those who acknowledge their fear but act from love, however, at least in theory i'd definitely wager that it's a very rare occasion. Certainly from my perspective it would never happen when choosing to wage war is concerned.
Just my two cents... i know the masked martian would love to get two cents from more readers!
yes, he would. thank you for this comment which has broadened this subject two fold.
ReplyDeleteI have hope that one day we will all be able to acknowledge our fear and deal with it from a place of love; and hope springs eternal even if the hoped for result does not.