... the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural address, 1933
As with many famous quotes this one too has taken on a life of its own to brake free from its context. President Roosevelt uttered these words to persuade the American people that the power to overcome the Great Depression was within them, if only they stopped being paralysed by fear of the Depression. It is essentially the circular reasoning of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you stop being afraid, that what you are afraid of will go away. Economic theory holds that there is something to be said for Roosevelt's call to confidence. Recession and economic downturn are very much dependent on the mood of the day and much less so on cold, hard facts and figures. The question is if it holds true in other sectors as well.
Michael Moore built an interesting, albeit somewhat oversimplified, case in his award-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine that fear is what is driving American society over the edge: people have guns because they are afraid of people who have guns who are afraid of ... and so on and so on. A self-reinforcing spiral of fear. Fear is also what is gripping the Netherlands these days. Everybody is holding their breath to see what will happen when Geert Wilders' movie Fitna will be released. Nobody really knows yet what this movie is about but it is expected to be a heavy-handed accusation against the Quran and Islam. It is feared that this will incite reactions in the Islamic world similar to that provoked by the Danish cartoons in 2005. There is fear that Dutch embassies in Islamic countries will find themselves under attack, that Dutch business abroad will suffer and that the country itself has a bullseye for terrorist attack painted on its back.
I am not naive. I know there are people out there crazed and outraged enough to cross the line between lawful, proportionate opposition and unlawful, disproportionate action. I lived a mere 5 minute walk away from where Theo van Gogh got his throat slit and had a note pinned to his chest warning Ayaan Hirsi Ali that she would be next. One of my former colleagues was startled to learn she had been teaching chemistry to terror suspect Samir A. shortly before his (second) arrest. All this is very real. Still, I cannot help but wonder if we are building our own self-fulfilling prophecy with this mass hysteria. The message it seems to be sending is that this movie is apparently such a big deal that it calls for a likewise response.
I am a firm believer in freedom of speech so if Wilders wants to make his movie, that is fine by me. I am, on the other hand, also a firm believer in the freedom to ignore that speech. Can't we all just shrug our shoulders over this and agree everybody is entitled to their opinion even if we don't agree? If only we could all stop being so afraid of each other...
Michael Moore built an interesting, albeit somewhat oversimplified, case in his award-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine that fear is what is driving American society over the edge: people have guns because they are afraid of people who have guns who are afraid of ... and so on and so on. A self-reinforcing spiral of fear. Fear is also what is gripping the Netherlands these days. Everybody is holding their breath to see what will happen when Geert Wilders' movie Fitna will be released. Nobody really knows yet what this movie is about but it is expected to be a heavy-handed accusation against the Quran and Islam. It is feared that this will incite reactions in the Islamic world similar to that provoked by the Danish cartoons in 2005. There is fear that Dutch embassies in Islamic countries will find themselves under attack, that Dutch business abroad will suffer and that the country itself has a bullseye for terrorist attack painted on its back.
I am not naive. I know there are people out there crazed and outraged enough to cross the line between lawful, proportionate opposition and unlawful, disproportionate action. I lived a mere 5 minute walk away from where Theo van Gogh got his throat slit and had a note pinned to his chest warning Ayaan Hirsi Ali that she would be next. One of my former colleagues was startled to learn she had been teaching chemistry to terror suspect Samir A. shortly before his (second) arrest. All this is very real. Still, I cannot help but wonder if we are building our own self-fulfilling prophecy with this mass hysteria. The message it seems to be sending is that this movie is apparently such a big deal that it calls for a likewise response.
I am a firm believer in freedom of speech so if Wilders wants to make his movie, that is fine by me. I am, on the other hand, also a firm believer in the freedom to ignore that speech. Can't we all just shrug our shoulders over this and agree everybody is entitled to their opinion even if we don't agree? If only we could all stop being so afraid of each other...
2 comments:
It is no secret that fear can go a long way into controlling people. It has worked wonders in the past, and it still does. It is the USA's primary weapon towards trying to convince the world that they represent the sole means of preventing chaos. That alone earned Bush his second term in office, with the catastrophic consequences that only those very naive (or very stupid) would not have foreseen. Of course there are reasons to be cautious. The world has spiralled down a self-fed notion that disaster is iminent. And the sole superpower does everything it can to stirr hatred and promote fear. How do we stop this? Paraphrasing Noam Chomsky, my idol and model, "the best way to stop terrorism is to stop participating in it". I would use his words as the basis to say that "the best way to stop being afraid is to stop promoting fear". But of course, that does not win elections... nor does it help keep the masses under control...
It figures that the very first contribution you would make to my blog is one of your anti-American speeches! You are still predictable as ever. ;-) Good to see you here anyway. Do keep tuning in.
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