To the editor:
In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt stated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” From that I concluded that fear itself is our enemy. So why are so many people beating the drums of fear and why are so many others afraid?
There are many in our history who have mastered fear. Nelson Mandela said that “courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” Many, like Mandela, learned without knowing that our brain is wired to make bad decisions when fear takes hold and good decisions when fear is not a factor.
I have always told my kids that fear is an alert system. Question its source and determine what is the best solution to undo its danger. As an alert and with methodical thinking, it will evaporate and you will prevail.
When anyone tries to bring fear into the picture, it is often powered by their own fears, or to gain power over your decisions. Fear often uses hate as a tool to wield fear. If we allow someone to define who or what is our enemy, they are also controlling who to hate.
Remember the alert system and that the enemy is fear. The brain has a high road and a low road for making decisions. Fear pushes you onto the low road. If you want the best decision for you, keep yourself away from fear. Who is my enemy? It is fear itself.
Jarryl Larson
Edgecomb
