fbpx
Menu

The giant cloud of fear that the media is presenting

HomeForumsEmotional MasteryThe giant cloud of fear that the media is presenting

New Reply
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #110734
    XenopusTex
    Participant

    I see that there are a lot of folks posting who reference feelings of fear about current events. I don’t understand the societal shift that has happened.

    Not to be crass, but the atrocities committed recently in Europe pale in comparison to what Hitler and Uncle Joe did to much of Europe. They pale in comparison to the horrors of WWI.

    What seems different is how society is reacting to things. What happened to the attitudes expressed during WWII, we shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them … The only thing to fear is fear itself, etc.

    When Japan decided to hit Pearl Harbor, we didn’t roll over, we responded with relentless and and overwhelming force.

    In the Cold War we had a commie behind every trashcan, then we had street thugs behind every trashcan, now we have terrorists behind every trashcan along with apparently self operating firearms waiting to ambush somebody behind every trashcan.

    Why have we, as society in general, elected to push the agenda of fear?

    #110735
    Aislynn
    Participant

    XenopusTex,

    What an interesting topic.

    I myself have been wondering the same thing. Unfortunately, their fear agenda has been working on me. I am scared and worried because all these attacks seem to be more and more common place, and I’m not just talking about terrorist attacks, but also shooters who have had mental problems.

    As a society we seem to be crumbling from the inside out. Hate, fear, and greed are corrupting us. Of course, not every single one of us, but there seem to be so many radical ideas but no one strong or brave enough to do something about it. In my opinion, presidents like Truman and Roosevelt had the guts and courage to stand up and fight to do what is right. However, our current president lacks that. He seems to be too scared to call it what it is and fight against it. The impression he is giving is that we should all just sit back and act like scared defenseless sheep against the wolves.

    To me, the type of president we have as our leader makes all the difference in the attitude and overall feeling of our country. With a strong leader, others will want to rise and help out. With a weak leader, we will all just sit back without much power to do anything.

    I agree that what we are experiencing could not possibly compare to the horrors of the holocaust, the Vietnam War, etc. However, I think that we feel like it is such a big threat because most of us were not alive then, or too small to remember. Yeah, we learned about it and school, but there’s a big difference between hearing about it, and experiencing even a fraction of it.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Aislynn.
    #110739

    Big history nerd here, so my perspective is definitely colored by all the books I’ve devoured over the years. I don’t think what we’re going through this day in age is very unique – people have always been incredibly violent and the press/ruling elites have always used it to their advantage. The thing that has changed with the advent of technology and the 24 hour news cycle is we’re just more bombarded with current events than we used to be. Expose any person to that much negativity over an extended period of time, and it warps one’s perception of reality. Combine this with the erosion of many of the “glues” that have traditionally held society together (manners, communities, etc.) it puts a greater strain on all of us.

    I think there’s a lot of positive work being done in the world, but we don’t hear about it since it doesn’t draw the internet clicks or television viewers.

    Only thing that keeps me sane is to go on news detoxes periodically and remind myself that the human race has endured through equally if not more troubling times.

    #110764
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear XenopusTex:

    Your last line is: “Why have we, as society in general, elected to push the agenda of fear?”

    Who is “we, as society”? Knowing as much as I know about fear, I am not pushing fear- there is so much of it that it is the root cause of almost every mental illness/ diagnosis and many of the more physical ones. There is so much fear that people suffer greatly from it, from ongoing, excess fear (anxiety). People’s lives are so limited because of fear. So I am not pushing it, not at all.

    I no longer watch TV because fear sells: buy this and you will be safe, or watch this and you will feel safe because you are not THERE/! danger is there, not where you are!/ You can forget about your troubles because others over there have it worse…

    People watch horror movies- and I used to- and go on scary rides in parks- or climb steep mountains because there is some relief in getting scared in those circumstances, in watching … others on the screen in real danger while we are safe in the movie theater or at home watching. Same principle as the news/ media- capitalizing on people’s relief watching other people, over THERE, in danger.

    And of course, there are politicians whose personal interests align with increasing fear and there are business people who sell more of their products because of fear.

    These are some of my thoughts on the topic. There is more to it and I am looking forward to read more and think more on the topic.

    anita

    #111282
    XenopusTex
    Participant

    Finally back to this.

    I agree that there are industries build around this massive wave of fear being created. However, there is a difference between fear and preparedness.

    Some politicians and their corporate backers push such things as needing to fortify our infrastructure because terrorists will blow up substations, etc. That is fear mongering. We couldn’t possibly make every substation “secure”.

    Reality is looking at the huge number of substations in the country and realizing that they can’t all be protected. Heck, in the state I live in, the space is too open to fortify.

    Preparedness is making sure that if the power grid takes a dive for whatever reason, you have food and water, and a means of maintaining the same.

    As far as products go, lots of people buy stuff they will never use out of fear. But, again, there is the difference between preparedness and fear.

    I tend to collect firearms and ammunition. Also, get death threats every now and then. Is it fear to buy weaponry or is it preparation?

    Just rather disgusted by the whole OMG we live in terror stuff. I think that it drains society. You can’t run at full red alert forever. Will write more later

    #111311
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear XenopusTex:

    There is a difference then between focusing on dangers we can do nothing about and focusing on dangers we can do something about and then do what needs to be done.

    Always consider the motivation of the person/ group that promotes a particular fear and evaluate two things:

    Is the danger they are presenting a real danger?

    Is what they desire that I do about it, is that going to protect me/ others from the danger? Is what they want me to do about the danger- is it even relevant to the danger>

    Looking forward to more of your thoughts.

    anita

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Please log in OR register.