Nerd Pride Radio

This is going to be a bit long-winded. If that's not your thing, that's okay. I just needed to get my thoughts into some sort of order.

While I tend to steer clear of most of the political "discussion" that happens in social media, I read a lot of it. One thing has become abundantly clear to me during the last 6 months of this election cycle. It is entirely possible that this has always been the norm. Perhaps it is because of the extremely polarizing nature of our two major candidates that this is becoming the norm.

This election cycle is all about fear. Both sides are playing into it to a degree that I have never seen before. This may seem like an over-simplification, and perhaps it is, but follow me on this:

One party's advertisements plays up fears of outsiders, fear of what the world will become if certain people are allowed to gain power, and fear that you are being lied to.

"It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both."- Niccolo Machiavelli

The other side plays up fears of outsiders, fear of what the world will become if certain people are allowed to gain power, and fear that you are being lied to.

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown." - Howard Phillips Lovecraft

I am not saying that one side is right, and the other is wrong. Far from it. The mechanisms for playing on this most basic of emotions are very different, but the end result is the same.

The best way to overcome the fear of something you do not understand is to meet it, learn from it, and try to understand it.

"What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it." - Jiddu Krishnamurti

What are you afraid of? Continuing our country down a path that you perceive as dangerous? Allowing the callous treatment of entire subsets of our society to become commonplace? A set of policies damaging our economy to the point of no return? Allowing bluster, arrogance, and a complete lack of qualifications becoming a prerequisite for political office?

Here's the thing. No one is allowed to tell anyone else what they can and cannot be afraid of. You may know someone who is terrified of ghosts, and is convinced that they have interacted with spirits. You may think that they are wrong, but you cannot know.

While I am sure I will not get this, or anything like it, my wish for this election cycle is a better understanding of what we all fear, and a better understanding for everyone as to how to conquer that fear.

"Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones." - Thich Nhat Hanh

I have, every day for the past 2 weeks, gotten a different political ad in the mail for the same local candidate. Actually, I should say AGAINST a local candidate. I have no idea what the position this candidate is running for, nor do I know who her opposition is. All I know is I shouldn't vote for her because she doesn't know how to fight ISIS.

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
-Litany Against Fear

Fear is very important to the media and politics. It encourages circling the wagons and rejecting outsiders. Mainstream news uses a great deal of fear to get viewership. But it's not rational fear, it's fear of established spectres flavored with the fear of the week. It also makes people likely to look for a leader, thinking it's time to trade freedom for security so they don't fight back when freedoms are curtailed. It's useful for misdirection; people are afraid of sharks, the nonexistent rising crime rate, and extremely rare foreign terrorists instead of the very real petty evils affecting them daily.

In addition to the intentional effects, I think it has all kinds of side effects. Fear in advertising has made people more neurotic and anxious, worrying that they'll never get laid if they don't find the right shampoo. I think many people have become overwhelmed, convinced that the world is falling apart when, on the whole, things are better than ever. That might be why post-apocalyptic stories are more popular than they've been since the 80s when nuclear war seemed just around the corner.