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Fear Leads To The Dark Side

Christmas parties are usually supposed to be either an enjoyable or a relaxed experience – or even both. Sometimes they can be a little eye-opening, especially when the secretary dances on the table and experiences a wardrobe malfunction. I was fortunate to be invited to one the other night, and interestingly enough this particular party saw me get involved in a conversation with a gentleman wanting to spark up a political discussion with me.

Don’t get me wrong. I love discussing politics – especially American politics, as I am learning the system over here and how it works – and I love discussing current events… but when you’re at a Christmas party, birthday party, wipe-your-arse-day party or any party for that matter, politics is usually the last thing on my mind. I’m sure this is the case with you too. But either way, I got involved in the discussion.

There was one quote this young gentleman offered which I found a little disturbing. He was probably being reflective and nothing more, but it still came across as a little disturbing. “We’ll be attacked with nukes, and we’ll be invading Iran within 12 to 24 months”. He stated this emphatically – and he believed it too. I responded by indicating he had indeed drank a few beers too many. I guess it should be expected when one drinks Heineken.

Let’s take a look at this. Will we be attacked with nuclear weapons? In the form of a nuclear bomb or a dirty bomb? No-one knows. Yes, countries like USA, Australia, England and others are at risk of terrorist attacks – and I do believe that terrorism is a concern. But I do not believe that worrying about nuclear strikes is a productive concern.

In this day and age, after everything we’ve learned from 9/11, the 9/11 Commission report, Afghanistan and Iraq, we really should be focusing on methods we can employ to prevent such strikes, rather than worry about them. Why should we have to worry about such terror? If we do, the terrorists’ objective is accomplished, is it not? Their whole aim is to attack us in a gutless but calculated manner (September 11), not just to kill a bunch of people, but to instill fear in the free people of the world. They want to scare the poop out of every woman, man, child and cow.

If we fear them, we lose. Remember Franklin D. Roosevelt’s quote: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. That is so true. & that is the biggest problem we have today.

The Bush Administration has used fear very effectively during its first term. Instead of taking on an optimistic determination in combating and preventing terrorism, the world was battered by comments such as “mushroom clouds”, “risk of terrorist attack” and so on. The US media, particularly FOX NEWS, picked up on such a negative fear, and ran with it. Why the hell would terrorists want to attack us with pens or remote-control model-airplanes anyway? (Fox News reported these – believe it or not)

I do not worry about the potential of a terrorist attack. I acknowledge there is always that possibility – and I’m not saying that I doubt we’ll ever have to face such a tragedy. I worry about how are our world leaders working together to help prevent tragedies. I worry about how people are so fearful of the world right now. I worry about why President Bush seems to be appointing no-one but YES MEN to his new cabinet. I worry about our troops in Iraq, and the diverse range of emotions they feel about the current conflicts in the world.

I worry about how homosexual people in the US never seem to get a fair thing said about them – and how they are really unable to aim to do what they want with their lives and in their relationships… because the government won’t let them fully pursue their happiness – because the government thinks this is the United States of Jesus, and because they’re locked in the dark ages. I worry about how people of all ethnic backgrounds tolerate racist attitudes here. Why should they? These issues are so prevalent – yet no-one seems to be doing anything proactive about it.

& it pisses me off when I read news articles about some buffoon wanting to change the name of Highway 69, or when people get aggravated about a nipple (or less) being seen on television. There are so many more things that we should be worried and concerned about. Let’s turn away from terrorism and world events for a second. What about drug addicts who genuinely want to turn their lives around, but never get the help they need? What about homelessness? What about elderly people who are dying simply because they cannot afford medical treatment in the most technologically advanced and wealthiest country in the world?

These are righteous concerns – and (in my view) are more important than worrying whether the name of a highway evokes the image of someone’s privates being tickled by a tongue or feather. Who cares? It’s a highway for crying out loud. What a waste of energy to be worrying about something like that! That energy could be poured into helping people who really need help. Why should these dung-flingers waste my time with their bullshite.

I think these kinds of ridiculous concerns are why people really feel complacent when it comes to politics and current events. If we had some more proactive involvement from these people in power, the world would indeed be a much better place.

So where do we go from here? The problems in this world are far greater for the individual person to solve… and there’s no way that one person could deal with it all. But when people become fearful – and they forget we should not be so afraid – they also forget that there are more important things in life to be concerned about. People forget there’s so much more we can be thankful for, happy about and enjoying. People could be solving problems, learning more, partying a lot and having more sex – but some people just want to worry about ridiculous shit.

I guess, as far as world events are concerned, that we will see how things happen as they unfold. But in the end, I do firmly believe that we need to be less fearful (and more realistic), more proactive, and focus more on the real concerns and issues in this day and age. & having more sex won’t hurt either.