Cyndi's Two Cents

Facing our fears

Commentary.

Hello November! You sure snuck up on me. One day I was planting zinnia seed along the edge of the garden, the next day those flowers were in full bloom, and the next, they were crisp and brown, bitten by several mornings of below freezing temperatures. At this rate, it seems, it will be Christmas when I wake up tomorrow morning! Considering the number of people I saw stocking aisles with Christmas stockings and other decorations 2 weeks before Halloween, it might even happen sooner.

Time flies. I know Halloween 2013 with its spooky tales, scary costumes and haunted houses is now history, but I’ve been thinking today about all of the things that we, collectively as a society, are afraid of. We’re not all afraid of the same things, but we are all afraid of some things.

We fear looking silly in front of our peers, friends, and family. We fear heights and spider, darkness and tight places. We fear losing our jobs, our health, and our hair. We fear public speaking, public restrooms and public officials. We fear standing still and we fear making progress.

We fear the unknown. We fear change. We fear failure.

Personally, I am not much on heights and crawl spaces, but there are other things of which I am much more fearful. I’m afraid that the majority of the people in this country think the only part of the Affordable Care Act they should fear is a poorly designed website. I’m afraid there are those whose interpretation of the Constitution is biased and self-serving. I fear incompetency in leadership on school boards, county boards, and in all branches of the state and federal government. There’s a lot more I fear, but this gives you a sense of what I have on my mind.

Here’s the problem: Fear can be debilitating. It can freeze us in our tracks so we are unlikely to stand up, speak up, or take a step forward. It’s also a fact that not all change is bad, and perhaps instead of cowering away, we could benefit more greatly by embracing it.

In his first inaugural address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt told the citizens of this great nation that fear would get them nowhere:

This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.

Facing our fears can be empowering. Instead of letting them own us and paralyze us, let’s face them and embrace them and let that fear motivate us as Americans to find a way to make the future a little less scary for our children and grandchildren.