Fear

Note: I vomited all of my thoughts into this. I might edit this later so you can consider this a first draft.

 Article of Inspiration #1 and Article of Inspiration #2

Fear can be positive. It tells you what to avoid, can be instructive, keeps us safe, and goes hand in hand with courage. Fear can also be negative. It can cause us to act without rationality, allow hate to infiltrate, and believe false statements.  The current political American climate is being driven by fear. Some individuals are afraid of Muslims and refugees. Conservatives are afraid of the dangers of open borders and possible terrorist attacks. Liberals are afraid of what Trump will do next. Religious people are afraid of the "demoralization" of society and Non-religious people are afraid of religion taking over. Pro-Life activists are afraid that life and the right to live will be taken away. Pro-choice activists are afraid that their choices and rights will be taken away. False news and misleading words and article titles make you fear tomorrow. We are afraid of the future and what those who believe another way will do to us. Politicians, family, friends, and strangers are speaking into your ear telling you what's wrong, why it's a problem, and why you should be afraid. Is fear necessarily a bad thing? Fear motivates us to do something, to speak out, and inspires change. Fear encourages us to help others in fear that they could be hurt or get in a worse situation. Fear also motivates us to shut others out. Fear encourages hateful acts and blaming others. We fear others. We fear that group of people because of what they've done. Conservatives fear Liberals because they keeping protesting everything violently and want to make the central government bigger. Liberals fear Conservatives because they ---- it doesn't matter. Each side has their own reasons and justifications to fear. Whether or not I agree with one or the other doesn't matter right now. Fear is what drives hate. Hate is consuming all of us. We hate you for this and this and this and this and this. There is so understanding, listening, or empathy for others. You only have this for those who agree with you. You shut out those on the other side. I know Republicans who say "Liberals are destroying our country" and Democrats who say the same for Conservatives. We are doing the same thing. I won't say that I'm not bias on this. I definitely have my side in the political controversies as I can't help but observe and take a side. With that in mind, I can't help but see all of this in front of my eyes. We see the problems and we want to give blame to someone. Trump tells his followers that the source of the problems are in immigrants. Giving blame, eases the burden off of us and puts it on something to punish. In my Anthropology class, something I take away every time is that there is no binary solution. To anything. Especially now. The immigration issue, the abortion debate, and more. There can't be one side takes all because of how polarized the issues and parties have become. There has to be a compromise. In a perfect world, that can work. It won't work. No one will give up until they win. Compromising is seen as weak, a last resort, and won't get all that is necessary. No one wants to compromise because they want to come out on the top. Everyone is afraid of what could happen if it doesn't go the way they want it to. That's why I'm so sad. I don't want to believe everything anyone tells me. I don't want to be driven by fear or hate. I want to see the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt. Except no one will let me. I've tried to keep this middle ground to help you see what the other side is feeling. Don't read about why the women are marching and post on Facebook about how they have a "victim mind set" or "need to realize how good they have it". We should look at it and say "Why are they doing this?" "What ways can I change?" and the same goes for the other side. I guess that's why I claim to be a moderate. I guess that's why I fail. I still lean no matter how hard I try. Although I tried my hardest to prevent it to show, I guess it can't be helped. I am human. You are human. They are human. Let's not make assumptions about others. Let's not hate and fear. We all are human and want the best for the world around us. I'm not sure what I was trying to say here as I let my mind go a bit wild, unfiltered, and unorganized, but I hope you could see a least something of what I was trying to say.