This week I was getting sliced and diced by my friendly dermatologist for the umpteenth time. I keep waiting for him to run out of things to extract from my smiling face. First we have to numb things up and that of course requires a jab. I asked how many of his patients were afraid of needles?  The answer surprised me. A whole lot are in the habit of cowering. I decided to do some research. 

This fear thing has a lot of variables and sources. Some are real and some are imagined. Some are physiological and some psychological. There is an innate sense of recoil when something threatens us. The rattle of a diamondback sends an electric shock through you. Adrenalin soars and your hairs actually do stand up on end. Now do I stand there and act cool or kick my Hoka running shoes into high gear and get the hell out of there?

After the fact am I scarred for life or just a little wiser? This is where it gets interesting. Some of us will move on and others will never set foot on anything resembling the desert, a mountain trail or a tropical marsh. Kind of limits where you can go on vacation. The fear grows into a phobia and you either seek out a shrink or relegate yourself to your home or apartment during peak season. 

Let’s talk geopolitics. Believe it or not the machinations of Chairman Xi and Putin are driven by fear. Both countries have been through centuries of invasion and chaotic dynasties. The Chinese have put together this production juggernaut that requires safe passage for all those container ships full of stuff. If you study a map of the South China Sea the islands of the Philippines, Japan et al can create quite a roadblock. 

Russia’s is huge but its population centers are right on Europe’s doorstep. The terrain is relatively flat and the only mountains to block invasion lie to the west and places like Ukraine, Poland et al. All were part of the former USSR via the Warsaw Pact. Not any more. NATO scares the crap out of them and each time another country joins the worse it gets. Irrational to us but probably not to them. 

The most interesting aspect of all this is cultural. If word keeps getting out how nice things are in Europe, America or Taiwan the stranglehold of totalitarianism becomes that much more difficult. Then the only way out is to shut down all news of our evil kingdoms. Spread propaganda and eradicate anything contrary to your belief. I hope this all doesn’t sound too elementary because to deal with it we have to understand it. Farfetched? Maybe not.

Think about our own little world. If we were any other country we would be at least ten in number by now. We have the east and left coasts. We have the southwest, southeast, midwest and New England states. We have counties and burghs, neighborhoods and gated communities. What do we fear the most? Change! Some don’t want it to happen and others fear it never will. 

Conservatives say the nomadic hordes that are sweeping the country will ruin everything. They don’t understand history, tradition and the ways that have always worked. Look at their dress and their mores. They do drugs and only want to think of themselves as they figuratively rape and pillage. Repel the boarders!

If you are progressives you have made big strides. You have enacted new and liberal laws to give power to the oppressed. You have unseated titans of industry and challenged every aspect of government. You want reparations and justice of sort. But all of a sudden, some are fighting back. Clean out the bums. Take back authority. That all sounds pretty scary on that side of the fence too. 

Fear is necessary to survive. That is a good thing. It is also irrational in its worst context. It is visceral and in being so evokes incredible emotion. We have had pandemics, shootings, riots and raids on the Capitol. COVID hit close to everyone. The others were distant but then again so close. Block parties, schools, churches and parades are part of our ethos. Is anybody safe?

The saddest part of all this is we are often paralyzed from moving forward. We worry about our job, our kids, our homes, our future, our climate. We become more rooted and not inclined to creativity. Why try? There is nothing I can do. There is an aura of insecurity and hopelessness. That ain’t good for anybody’s psyche. 

Fear alters your sense of reality. We let our imaginations run wild. We see boogey men omnipresent. Sharks are everywhere. Interest rates are going to soar and wipe out your savings. Your kids are going to be abducted. Your wife is going to leave you. Wait, maybe that is not so scary. (Ha! I just wanted to see if you got this far.) We have lost faith. 

When we fear we are not in control. I guess it comes down to believing in yourself and all of us. The way to overcome it is to stand up to it. It is called flooding. Rather than hiding, you put a toe in the water and then get in with both feet. Hug a leftie. Take an old fart to lunch. You would be surprised. 

We are not weak if we are afraid. We are stupid beyond compare if we don’t address it. It has been around for millennia. It can be overcome but it really takes work. Try it! You’ll like it. 

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids:

Major fears. Spiders, snakes, injections(25%), closed spaces, heights, social interactions, public speaking  and germs. I am afraid of heights but skiing and jumping out of an airplane  have gotten me through that. 

Fear can be a pleasure. People like to go to scary movies, test their limits by skiing off cliffs or going to a shipwreck. Better skip that last  one. 

30% of the population now fears being murdered. 18% by someone they don’t know and 12% by someone that do know. Yikes

You can be scared to death. Although it is rare that surge of adrenalin can get out of control and damage your heart beyond repair. 

Around 30% of the people who died from COVID could have been saved if they got vaccinated. Who knows how many were afraid of needles?