When Franklin Roosevelt assumed the office of president of the United States of America in January 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, he recognized rightly that people in our nation were being crippled by fear.
In his inaugural address, he spoke the truth that Americans needed to hear: “I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
We again find ourselves at a time when our citizens find themselves feeling afraid.
In their book “Fear Itself: The Causes and Consequences of Fear in America,” Bader, Baker, Day and Gordon share, “From moral panics about immigration and gun control to anxiety about terrorism and natural disasters, Americans live in a culture of fear… Persistent fear negatively affects individuals’ decision-making abilities and causes anxiety, depression, and poor physical health. Further, fear harms communities and society by corroding social trust and civic engagement. Yet politicians often effectively leverage fears to garner votes and companies routinely market unnecessary products that promise protection from imagined or exaggerated harms.”
We need to be wary of fear’s negative impact upon us. Edgar Wallace declares, “Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake.” And Rudyard Kipling warns us, “Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are your own fears.”
Scripture tells us repeatedly not to be controlled by fear.
Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Joshua 1:9: “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 56:3: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Isaiah 41:10: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
And 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
Let us not be driven by fear. Rather let the guiding force of our lives be the two great commandments: Let us love the Lord our God with the whole of our being, and let us love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
