2008 Woodie Awards
All we have to fear is each other
A confederacy of dunces
Noel Runyan
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: Opinion
We are a fearful people; there is no denying that.
In its essence, fear itself is a good thing. Fear is natural. Fear is the instinct that keeps us alive, an evolutionary component that warned our ancestors when to spear the wooly mammoth and when to run for their lives. Nowadays, it informs us that hobbies such as bungee jumping and bull-fighting are dangerous.
There are plenty of ways to lose one's life in this day and age without inventing one more. And that brings me to my ultimate concern. The time for this primeval sort of fear is long past. And yet we continue to live in fear.
Every morning I get up and I walk all over this campus. Perhaps this is my morose side shining through, but I can't shake the feeling that all the people harbor some deep mistrust in their hearts. I think everyone I will see today is afraid of something.
What are we so afraid of? Each other, mostly. Those of us who can no longer find a boogeyman in the shadow of their neighbors devote their time to irrational fear of the state, the people and institutions that have given them peace and security for the past three centuries.
If you judge fear by the length a person goes to protect himself, we are living in a state and nation of terror.
Nuclear weapons come to mind immediately, of course, as does the blue-yellow-orange-red alert that has been haunting in its overall effectiveness for the past seven years. The craze filters down to the people, who put bars on their windows and burglar alarms in their houses and buy guns.
I want to make one thing clear right now. I respect gun owners in general. I have nothing against hunting as long as someone is going to consume the meat from the animals that are shot. Nor do I have anything against using a gun to protect your life or property if the situation warrants it.
I duly acknowledge the long and storied tradition of gun ownership in the U.S., and I am glad there are certain dedicated individuals who will be ready to fight off the U.S. government if it comes down to that. Because the war the U.S. started overseas is going so swimmingly, I'm worried about how the war against its own people will turn out.
In its essence, fear itself is a good thing. Fear is natural. Fear is the instinct that keeps us alive, an evolutionary component that warned our ancestors when to spear the wooly mammoth and when to run for their lives. Nowadays, it informs us that hobbies such as bungee jumping and bull-fighting are dangerous.
There are plenty of ways to lose one's life in this day and age without inventing one more. And that brings me to my ultimate concern. The time for this primeval sort of fear is long past. And yet we continue to live in fear.
Every morning I get up and I walk all over this campus. Perhaps this is my morose side shining through, but I can't shake the feeling that all the people harbor some deep mistrust in their hearts. I think everyone I will see today is afraid of something.
What are we so afraid of? Each other, mostly. Those of us who can no longer find a boogeyman in the shadow of their neighbors devote their time to irrational fear of the state, the people and institutions that have given them peace and security for the past three centuries.
If you judge fear by the length a person goes to protect himself, we are living in a state and nation of terror.
Nuclear weapons come to mind immediately, of course, as does the blue-yellow-orange-red alert that has been haunting in its overall effectiveness for the past seven years. The craze filters down to the people, who put bars on their windows and burglar alarms in their houses and buy guns.
I want to make one thing clear right now. I respect gun owners in general. I have nothing against hunting as long as someone is going to consume the meat from the animals that are shot. Nor do I have anything against using a gun to protect your life or property if the situation warrants it.
I duly acknowledge the long and storied tradition of gun ownership in the U.S., and I am glad there are certain dedicated individuals who will be ready to fight off the U.S. government if it comes down to that. Because the war the U.S. started overseas is going so swimmingly, I'm worried about how the war against its own people will turn out.
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