We are far more insulated from immediate life threatening dangers today but also more prone to be ruled by subtler fears, particularly fear of ‘the other.’ Most of these fears are not rational. Fear of some 'other' taking my job, taking opportunities that I believe belong to my children, fear of destroying the neighborhood, or fear of threatening my freedoms. These are fears we need to confront deep within, asking ourselves the tough questions about their source in our own insecurities, pride, greed, and selfishness. That’s hard inner work. If we don’t do that work we will succumb to what Master Yoda says about fear, “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” Our own suffering and the suffering of others.
I was reading a David Brooks OpEd piece on Politics and Fear in which he describes the change that has come about of late in the Republican Party. In that article he quotes J.R.R. Tolkien who said, “A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a shortcut to meet it.” Fear is a powerful motivator in our lives. We are hardwired to respond to fear as a life saving measure, which in an earlier time in human history and still sometimes today can save our lives. But fear can also paralyze, or turn us into hateful creatures.
We are far more insulated from immediate life threatening dangers today but also more prone to be ruled by subtler fears, particularly fear of ‘the other.’ Most of these fears are not rational. Fear of some 'other' taking my job, taking opportunities that I believe belong to my children, fear of destroying the neighborhood, or fear of threatening my freedoms. These are fears we need to confront deep within, asking ourselves the tough questions about their source in our own insecurities, pride, greed, and selfishness. That’s hard inner work. If we don’t do that work we will succumb to what Master Yoda says about fear, “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” Our own suffering and the suffering of others.
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August 2022
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