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State Of Fear: Governing With Terror?

These days, at least where I live, it seems there are a thousand different things to be worried about. If it isn't the food police it's the cancer patrol; global warming or nuclear proliferation; bird flu, AIDS, or ebola; gangs, criminals of all sorts, or terrorists; immigration and conspiracies.

The media reports everything with an edge of paranoia; scientists and politicians bray about this, that, and the other thing.

The use of anti-bacterial soap, hand sanitizers, face masks, and latex gloves abounds.

Personally, I think all of this serves to separate and isolate us, "the people," from each other. It raises suspicion and fear of strangers and contagion. We're afraid of our own shadows.

Tonight on the news there is a story about bacteria found in the sand at local beaches. "Will this change your holiday plans? How safe is it, really?" Well, excuse me, I'm thinking there probably is a lot of bacteria in the sand, and probably always has been. I would think that's the state of nature ~ bacteria lives all over the place. Are "they" trying to keep people off the beaches this holiday weekend, or maybe to lessen the crowd? Certainly, the beaches are overcrowded the more people move to Southern California, but is this really the way to discourage folks from going there? Scare them?

Are we really such a bunch of sheep that the "shepherds" can drive us to and fro at will? Are things like these social experiments? I'm fed up with it.

Terror Governing Fear State

Well, here is the big question: Which things should we really fear and which are smoke screens for another purpose?

Better yet, what is that purpose?

The purpose for governing with fear is to control people.

Everything is a circle of control. Fear creates that circle of control. Some examples of this are listed via my opinion:

1. Germs and Sickness
Obviously the exist. But really, what happened to the bird flu that was supposed to kill millions? What about AIDS and Cancer, how many different things can cause them and spread them? Its the health care industry, more likely the pharmacutical industry that keeps us reliant on buy products to protect us when many times the natural treatment is better, cheaper, and has less side effects.

2. Natural Disasters and Global Warming
Obviously they exist. Problem is to what extent. We cannot prevent natural Disasters so why get all worried about it and run around. Global warming crazes go both ways, creating an environment in which nothing really gets done. This is created in large part by the oil companies and other natural resource companies that realize their money pot shrinking with less people using oil and natural gas. Thus the scare at the moment is more the other way, that we are afraid that global warming doesn't exist and we are being tricked into not using oil when really, getting away from oil benefits everyone and everything.

3. Terrorism
One act of terrorism on US has been used to enact laws that sacrifice our liberty for safety. Terrorism has been used to make us believe that someone has to keep us safe for our own good. Of course, documents have already been released showing that our government knew about 9/11 before hand, and it still happened. So this tactic of fear keeps us begging the government to "secure us" at any cost.

4. Conspiracies
The constant fear that everyone is out to get you prevents people from taking an active role in the governing and law making in our country. If you are afraid that you will be heard and silence for speaking out against the government and thus do nothing, your fear has made you just as much a slave as people who believe that our government has to bring us safety at any cost. Conspiracies build strong among people who enjoy talking but doing little about it. They create an atmosphere of fear. Fear of the people behind the scenes. Fear of a Republican or Democrat conspiracy to take over. Fear that everyone is trying to remove God from the world. Fear that we are moving towards a totalitarian government/religious state. Some are valid fears, but cannot be allowed to prevent your action.

Using fear to control is done in every country, every society, and yes, every religion. We are afraid of terrorist, government, war, natural Disasters, and hell. Most of the time, these fears are not nearly as real as we believe them to be, or allow them to be. We are governed by fear in all these areas because we allow it to happen. We allow ourselves to be over come by fear, either because we fear it must be true, or because we want to believe its true.

State Of Fear: Governing With Terror? History & Civil Business Politics

I see the use of fear in my dad to day life as a journalist. It is one of the most powerful tools used to control people. Sometimes it is justified, often it is overstated.

The media has a role to report on things whether they scare people or not. Unfortunately because everything is about selling papers and ratings, stories are deliberately reported in a sensational way to lure an audience.

Both the media and news makers need to be brought into line or scrutinised better. There is no better example of this then the use of the word "terrorism" in just about every news report that contains an unknown threat. This word is used by our elected representatives to scare people when they know very well terrorism isn't the root cause of every problem in the world. Personally I hate the word, it is the most abused word in public speak today.

I think Konq has summed up this debate very well in his earlier post.