Fear Itself

Hey, America. Why are we so scared?

No, really. Fear makes us stupid. When we are fearful, psychologists have shown that we are significantly more likely to cling to what we know rather than explore new options. Fear causes us to hunker down and bury our heads in the sand. We become paralyzed and, by extension, stop looking for ways to improve or resolve things and instead look for ways to survive things.

Medical experts say that the anxious feeling we get when we're afraid is a standardized biological reaction, but that doesn’t explain why we are afraid in the first place. Psychology has identified five major categories that most human fear seems to fall into:

Extinction - Because, let’s be real for a moment, what is more terrifying than ceasing to exist?

Mutilation - This refers to more than something as straightforward as dismemberment. This can manifest itself in a fear of getting bitten by a bug or animal, scraping your face and getting a scar, even the natural appearance of wrinkles as you age falls into the category of “fear of mutilation”.

Loss of Autonomy - This is a fear of losing power. This loss can be physical (think of kidnapping, assault, or imprisonment) or it can be less tangible (think more along the lines of being in a situation where everything is outside of your control or, for a more concrete example, being held responsible for something that you didn’t actually do).

Separation - Somewhat akin to extinction, this fear is rooted in not mattering. It’s one of the reasons why the silent treatment often works. It’s where the idea of FOMO comes from (the fear of missing out). This fear is founded on the idea that we might not actually matter, ever, to anyone.

Ego-Death - This one is both simple and complicated. On one hand, it’s pretty easy to understand that no one likes being humiliated or shamed. However, it’s deeper than that. Ego-death is the fear that your entire understanding of who you are will be destroyed. The idea that we might reach a point where we don’t even know who we are anymore is terrifying to most people.Think of this example: someone thinks that their heritage is from Scotland, Iceland, and Germany without any other influences. They run DNA tests, convinced that this will prove that they have a pure lineage only to discover that somewhere in their family tree they have both Native American and African ancestry. This completely changes the way they view the world and their place in it.

When you think of some of the more common phobias, these categories are pretty much going to cover them all: afraid of public speaking? That’s probably a combination of ego-death and possibly a long-term consequence of separation. Fear of clowns? Generally this fear is rooted in extinction (killer clowns), mutilation (violent clowns), or loss of autonomy (kidnapper clowns). What about fear of commitment? Generally that is related to a fear of losing one's autonomy because you worry about not being in control of your life any more.

So why is this important?

Polls show majorities of Americans across demographics are worried about being victims of terrorism and crime. These numbers have surged recently to highs we haven’t seen for more than a decade in the US. The results? Policies like this and this.

Thanks to our fear, we imprison over a hundred thousand people with no more justification than “they look like the Bad Guys.” We question the loyalty of our own citizens. We deny the facts. Even worse, we flat-out make things up.

The basic trick here is to make a clear connection between what you are proposing and a specific outcome. Often this looks like a solution to something dangerous, or, more commonly, highlighting the dangers of not doing something.

It’s time that we take a long, hard look at ourselves.

According to Chapman University’s annual Survey of American Fears, people in America are most afraid of corrupt government officials, terrorist attacks/terrorism, not having enough money for the future, and government restrictions on firearms and ammunition. However, we need to look at whether or not these fears are founded in truth or if it’s potentially a result of fake news and other lies.

The US Department of State has explicitly reported that, “The total number of terrorist attacks in 2015 decreased by 13% and total deaths due to terrorist attacks decreased by 14%, compared to 2014. This was largely due to fewer attacks and deaths in Iraq, Pakistan, and Nigeria. This represents the first decline in total terrorist attacks and deaths worldwide since 2012.” Yet, Americans are more afraid than ever before about terrorist attacks?

Why are we afraid of immigration when data suggests that native-born Americans are more likely to commit crimes than immigrants? Why are we afraid that the government will take away our guns when the government hasn’t done anything to even revise the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act since 1986?

What are we afraid of?

The 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, is famous for having said, “The only thing we have to fear...is fear itself.” Well, maybe that’s our problem. We’re scared because we’re scared. We’re scared because it’s easier to be scared than to seek out the truth. We’re scared because it’s better than finding out that we were wrong. We’re scared because it gives us an excuse to do and say outrageous things without consequence. We’re scared because we don’t want to behave like responsible adults.

Come on. We’re better than this.