Lately my social activist/inner questioner has been very activated and it seems to be triggered by things I hear people are doing in response to those who use their misguided ideas to provoke fear. Why do we humans allow other people’s fears to clog our ability to think rationally and act compassionately? Let me give you some ideas that don’t make sense rationally or to an open heart:
• There has been a huge run on guns and ammunition since the day President Obama was elected. It seems the business arm of the NRA spread the rumor (not true) of this administration taking away their gun rights and since then most gun stores keep running out of guns and ammo. This business is totally run by people who seem to be very afraid and so they stock up to fight off the evil forces that linger in their thoughts.
• Those that want to build a wall between the US and Mexico are also fear driven people who seem to have lost the logic of common sense. For anyone who wants to read what is going on, they can find easily that much of the trouble in Mexico comes from the US and our demand for drugs and our huge commerce of selling arms to Mexico.
• Those that spread the fear of socialism have not been paying attention to the way our system has been working for quite some time. In fact opposition to Corporate Socialism and the wealth class dominance has been systematically eliminated since Reagan. This has taken place in the form of disabling the power of unions and the restructuring of laws that create the free marketplace that benefits the wealthiest and hurts the common worker.
• The fear that if we don’t prop up big corporations then we will lose more jobs is another belief that has us acting crazy doling out huge sums of money. Many of these corporations don’t even offer real products but are based on speculations and the fear driven insurance protection racket. The real truth is that people create jobs by wanting to purchase products. Who has a plan to bail out the people?
• We as a nation went to war based on the trumped up fear mongering of the past administration and most people fell into line supporting the lockstep marching to war against the Leader of Iraq who had nothing to do with the 9/11 tragedy. Fear drove this huge profit making adventure for the corporations that benefit from war.
• People support political points of view that are not at all looking out for their needs because they have been convinced of the fear they peddle to get votes and to have power over others. The so-called red states should be livid over the leadership that got this country into a huge mess for the people but no they buy the fear and follow blindly.
• The business of religion may use fear most effectively. These self-described spokespersons for God run a huge fear campaign warning the sinners of eternal damnation if they don’t do as they are told. They make up concepts like sin, hell, a wrathful God, the evilness of desire, and more to scare the daylights out of people so they will fall in line. It would be better to think of churches and ministers as social control agents.
• Schools are built on the fear of failure for the purpose of control. They are run as authoritarian organizations training people to act like sheep, don’t question things, and do as they are told. Real critical thinking is drowned out by the mindlessness of rote repetition and uninspired textbooks and study materials. Their testing programs only really test compliance not intelligence.
Isn’t there a huge need to start thinking on our own, to question the ridiculous, to think rationally, and to consider the recovery of our heart’s wisdom in all we do? Fear is just a thought and it should be examined with a critical eye and an open heart.
If you live from love, compassion and kindness then fear can’t be used to manipulate. Have a heart filled day.