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From Big Foot to the Loch Ness monster, people are afraid of the unknown. The next door neighbor who spends his time behind locked doors is feared because he is unknown. The contents of an envelope stamped Past Due evokes fear of the contents. The face behind the mask is feared...
because of an overly active imagination that concocts visions of a monster. A religion with worship rituals and rules of conduct unknown to the observer gives cause for fear due to lack of knowledge. Unidentified flying objects evoke fear simply because they are unidentified. Dare say if we happened upon a flying object that had landed and because we had never before seen it we would still call it unidentified, and if a life form exited the object we would most definitely be afraid because we wouldn’t know if it presented any danger to our well being.
Fear is a result of unfamiliarity. People who are unfamiliar with guns are afraid of guns. People unfamiliar with a person wielding a gun have good reason to be afraid. It is natural to be afraid of someone who is an intruder in your home. To be afraid and not know why you are afraid is reason enough to have a long talk with yourself. Fear of the abnormal, what ever abnormal is, gives cause for much misunderstanding among civilized people. Body piercing, tattoos, hair styles, clothes, and other adornments that might be different from the accepted style of the day are guaranteed reasons for misunderstandings, which if unaddressed can produce fear. Parents fear what they don’t understand about the activities of their children. Children become totally absorbed in time now because they fear their future.
We are a society of people filled with fear but we have a fear of acknowledgement of our fear because we fear that acceptance by our peers will be lacking. Is it any wonder that we wrap our children in bubble-wrap from the time of their birth until they fly from the nest? Is it any wonder that our schools, social services, family protective services, and all of the other stop-gaps that we’ve created exist because of our fears? Is it no longer natural for little Billy to bump his head, scrape his knee, or bust his lip? Is it normal for little Sally to know that if dad doesn’t buy her the newest electronic gadget that plays songs, functions as a wireless computer and telephone, and stores information she needs to pass school examinations that she can exact revenge upon him by going to the authorities and accusing him of molesting her? Should normal reaction be little Tommy showing up at school with a bruise on his behind caused by a fall from his skateboard and his parents being visited by authorities demanding an explanation?
I’m not advocating total abandonment of protective measures for children, only a more rational approach based on rational thought in lieu of knee-jerk conclusions, which have been created by our obsession with fear. Instantaneous worldwide communication has fostered much of our fear. If someone is shot in a school in Istanbul, within five minutes the news has been broadcast to Billings, Montana and other far reaches throughout the world. Instantaneous fear is felt among peoples everywhere. We have become victims of our technological advancements. Our society could benefit from self-examination as a means of getting back in touch with reality of circumstance in lieu of fear of the unknown. We must accept the reality that little Billy will scrape his knee and skin his elbow. We must accept the possibility that a father might be innocent of his daughter’s accusation of molestation once proper examinations provide proof.
We must accept the fact that we are preoccupied with fear. We must admit to being controlled by fear and therefore becoming advocates to implementation of more controlling forces within our society. A few generations beyond time now might behold a society of people who hold government authorities responsible for every scrape and bruise, every real crime, every imagined crime, and every act of punishment in lieu of what was once practiced within homes, within families, and without interference from our government agencies. It’s conceivable that those who follow will experience a total abdication of the family structure, family discipline, family values, and the family as an entity