Different things motivate different people. For some, desire, jealousy or the prospect of success and fame drive their actions. For others, trying to obtain the idea of a perfect life or to be the perfect person drives their lives. My motivating force, that which guides my every decision and thought, is fear.
By fear I don’t mean I abstain from experiencing things because I am scared of what might happen. Quite the opposite. I consciously seek out on a daily basis situations that terrify me and do them. I am not referring to dangerous or illegal hobbies or death-defying activities, rather, I mean I take chances.
I am talking about asking that hot guy or girl out, speaking in front a bunch of people, being myself in front of new people — all fears I bet many of us share.
There are many things to fear these days. Specifically, the war on the horizon has much of America fearing for the future of this nation, for their physical and financial security and for those in the military’s lives.
The evidence America is getting scared is everywhere. Citizens in all states are stocking up on emergency supplies such as food, batteries and even duct tape and plastic in the event of anthrax or small pox attacks. Some people are seeking out vaccinations against those diseases, too. Some Web sites, even the White House’s, are posting instructions on how to guard your house, apartment or office space from biochemical weapons. (By the way, the duct tape and plastic are for “sealing” a “safe room.” Am I the only one seriously doubting the effectiveness of duct tape in the event of war? I mean, I know it’s really handy, but duct tape?)
In high-risk areas such as New York City and Washington, D.C., military protection has increased, making citizens everywhere painfully aware of the onset of possible war. Even with officials declaring the recent terrorism threat upgrade from yellow to orange may have been based on false information, people still fear a possible conflict with Iraq. Among the precautions being taken are the heightened protection of places such as industries, dams, borders and even computer networks. Steps even have been taken locally to safeguard us from a possible terrorist attack. LSU’s webpage lists information on precautions University students should take. In Louisiana the same precautions that would be taken for a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, are being taken just in case of attack. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and President Bush have made several attempts at calming down the heightened state of panic Americans have adopted, but it is unclear how well those attempts are working.
Bush, in a weekly radio address, said Americans should stop worrying and let the professionals do their jobs of protecting. He said we should go about living our lives.
I never thought I would ever say this, but George Bush is completely right. We should not let this fear of an attack stop us from doing what we would do normally. If it happens, it happens. The wise thing to do in this situation is to be cautious and aware of your surroundings. But no one should be letting fear affect his or her life negatively.
And it is not just fear of a war with Iraq we should make sure does not interfere with our lives. It is the fear of both the big and little things that have a habit of cropping up at the most inopportune times in our lives.
We have all heard the famous quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Well here’s another quote for you — “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt said that. Go out today and do something you think you can’t do. And leave the duct tape behind.