Notes

The Anatomy of Collective Fear
read more is really a powerful emotion. It holds us as well as its invisible grip and pushes justice and fairness out of its way just like a growing snowball rolling down a steep hill. It is an insidious serpent that silently enters our bedrooms and creeps into our unsuspecting minds with paralyzing poison in its fangs. It makes us crawl into our shells and close our eyes to pain and insult. It prevents a good-hearted colleague from defending an unpopular individual at a workplace and enables ruthless dictators to stay in power for decades. It hovers over schools, sports teams and societies, looking for the next group that may allow it sneak in.

Once fear has secured its place, it starts spreading its disease with exactly the same proven method it has useful for centuries. It plants a growing seed of apprehension in our minds and convinces us to trust that any deviation from the behavior of the majority hurts our standing in the group, or in the worst scenario, puts our lives in danger. It does make us accept irrationality and tolerate unfairness with regard to self-preservation. It does make us raise our supporting hands before a madman and forces us to check away when we should operate and defend the weak. It makes us watch a bully take down our friend, also it allows rotten governments to terrorize their citizens with impunity. It creates ten strong men fear one weak soul with a gun. It causes our bodies to do something in grave contradiction with the thoughts we carry in our minds. It turns us into cowards.

Collective fear has a great ability to transform itself right into a spell that engulfs people under its ever-thickening thundercloud. The air in its vicinity grows so heavy with worry and paranoia that dispersing it becomes extremely difficult for someone who wants to liberate. The fear grows stronger whenever a new person joins its ranks and stopping it becomes a growing number of difficult each second we allow it march forward. We hesitate and miss our possiblity to kill it when it's still weak. We watch the idea of no return passing with this idle eyes and accept the sad reality: Fear has won and the powers driving it are in control.

The dark and pulsing heart of collective fear is quite strong. It paralyzes us and suffocates the rationality that is attempting to talk sense to us. Its great binding powers keep us from taking action even if you want to see change and justice happen. read more want to be better but are too afraid to accomplish anything without the reassurance that others will take our side and not turn against us. We watch things deteriorate and our fellow people suffer, but we neglect to act. We let fear hold us down and bury our will to operate and fight. We are blinded by the powerful spell that uses human anxiety for fuel to expand its destructive grasp. When that spell takes over many people, it becomes stronger than hope. Hope is pushed away with regard to individual survival. This is the day when all progress stops, and evil takes over.

The evil doesn't stay in power forever, nonetheless it is really a formidable enemy. It will only be defeated when collective hope starts bombarding its heavy fortress with millions of little arrows. The fight starts slowly with a few exceptional souls and requires the will to win or lose it all. The courageous ones raise their heads, but even they hesitate once the bells of terror ring loudly in their ears. They have seen what goes on to the ones who try to operate against the mighty fear. They understand that any support they will have is just a thin veil of smoke in the air that may vanish if even a hint of danger is detected. The power required to win the fight is t here , but it can only be harnessed if people get together simultaneously. However they are too scared to do it. The desire to fight is strong only behind closed doors and closed minds, no one can be sure if it is real because fear keeps their lips tightly shut. People whisper, however they don't make promises. They wink and nod approvingly, but turn away when the time involves make true commitments. They want to join the ranks of justice, however when fear scolds them, they turn against each other and say that they have nothing to do with the ones who dared to challenge it. They betray friends and deceive their neighbors. They serve the king fear since it is still stronger than hope. They want to play safe and wait just a little longer - see if hope has a real potential for winning.

It takes plenty of guts and determination to liberate from the spell of fear. The first ones who take the risk of losing everything will be the true heroes. They deserve the real praise and respect. We who join them later aren't the ones who make change happen or who ensure that justice wins. We are just sheep following the giants - even if we are the required component of any effective change. We have been the hesitant ones who wait until we realize that it is safe to go out. We watch the problem develop from a long way away and once you will find a hole in the spell, and the air flows in, we magically find guts too. The dominoes start falling and we wake up. We look into the mirror and have ourselves: Why on the planet did we behave like that? Why? Because we were afraid.

Hi,
I'm J. Max Cromwell, the author of 22 Inches of Rain. It's a book about life and its little mysteries.

Cheers,
Jmax
Here's my website: https://www.inventables.com/users/thomassenalbright2252