Common Sense Politics

The Subconcious Science of Fear

Posted by Donna on January 25, 2009 at 8:20 pm.

Has anyone (besides me) noticed how many documentaries on TV today are related to “Armageddon” or “End of Days” or “The Number One Threat to Life on Earth”? Or, “2012 and How It May Affect You”? There are thousands of ways we can be destroyed, from a encountering a black hole and be pulled apart like spaghetti to a comet striking New York and creating a nuclear winter. The thing I have noticed about these so called “documentaries” is that the same scientists tend to appear over and over again saying the same things. Al Gore says that the debate is over; that climate change is happening and it is the fault of the people creating greenhouse gases causing temperatures to rise. Well, yes, everyday I and others like me breathe in and out, sometimes we pass methane gas. Dogs, cats, cows, crickets and every other creature on earth must do the same things. The controversy rages with 650 scientists all over the world saying it ain’t so.

Then — remember back in September of 2008 when Secretary Paulson stood up before God and the whole world and demanded that Congress give him 700 Billion dollars? He said that as a nation we faced “dire consequences” if Wall Street was allowed to fail. Before that it was AIG. It was even reported by a member of Congress that Secretary Paulson threatened them with “martial law” if his demands were not met. Hmm.

The other day, Wednesday, I think, Barak Obama (you know, the black guy with the Mideastern name) addressed the nation, telling us all that he plans a trillion dollar spending program “to get the economy going again” and that if we don’t do it, we all will be facing more dire consequences and it will be our fault. Who is WE, Mr. Obama? You got a mouse in your pocket? More Hmmm.

Well, it just seems strange that everybody seemed to be doing okay and we were all thrumming along in our day to day activities when WHAM we were in a depression. Millions lost their jobs, others lost their life savings in the stock market. Everyone else stopped spending and started stocking up on water, rice and beans. Gun sales skyrocketed. With all this happening at once, I strangely began to feel manipulated. I may not be the most logical person on earth, but have learned that my intuition is rarely wrong.

Just how does a bombardment of TV documentaries, authoritarian pronouncements, best selling books, blogs online — information coming at you like a tsunami — affect YOU? All of it telling you to be scared, very scared — ?? For the older members of us, it pretty well gets taken in stride. We all remember the Y2K debaucle that didn’t ever happen, but the young with bright futures and hopeful natures have not had our experiences. Even so, the media influence sinks in the back of our minds and all comes back again the next time we hear the bad news on Fox & Friends. The only way to overcome the fear infection is to tell ourselves over and over again that we are being manipulated and just because someone says it, doesn’t make it so. How many times did my Mother say that to me? Eventually, the sunshine will overcome the darkness and our attitudes will change accordingly. Maybe, just maybe, we will create a more peaceful life for ourselves, our family, our neighborhood, our city and then perhaps, our country. This practice is not denial, it is facing our problems without the fatal fear factor.

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