The Rhetoric of Fear

As we head into the final stretches of the political campaign -- after tomorrow the General Election season begins in earnest. What ever choices and decisions, compromises and deals, have been made, it's a dash to the finish. But as we consider the future let us consider what Fareed Zakaria calls the "rhetoric of fear."

America has become a nation consumed by anxiety, worried about terrorists and rogue nations, Muslims and Mexicans, foreign companies and free trade, immigrants and international organizations. The strongest nation in the history of the world now sees itself besieged by forces beyond its control. While the Bush administration has contributed mightily to this state of affairs, it is a phenomenon that goes beyond one president. (The Post American World, Norton, 2008, p. 251)


I must admit that the Democrats can be as good at fear-mongering as the Republicans, though often in different ways. The problem, as I see it, is that we Americans are easily frightened. Maybe that's due to the fact that until Pearl Harbor America was pretty isolated. We're not used to outside threats. And yet, nativism and fear of the other have been with us from the very beginning. My personal opinion is that the fear mongering of the right is more dangerous than that of the left, that is because it could lead to dangerous liaisons in foreign lands -- such as the disastrous Iraq War. I also believe that we're more tempted by concerns about a lack of physical security than economic security -- which is why the Republican Party has done well in recent years. Still, let us make our decisions less out of fear and more out of a concern for the greater good of the nation and the world!

As this election season heads into the final stretches, may we be less inclined to the temptation of embracing our fears. As FDR said, the "only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." And as the author of 1 John puts it: "Perfect love casts out fear" (1 Jn 4:18).

Comments

Anonymous said…
Bravo Pastor Bob, this is potentially a very deep and fascinating conversation! Excuse me while I veer off the somewhat political bent, but I think you hit on the big issue of the "wealthy". In wealthy, I refer to all Americans, b/c frankly we are one of the richest countries in the world.

The issue I think we all is a natural anxiety that comes with being wealthy. In my former job, I was a banker to wealthy clients. You would think having a couple million in the bank makes life easy.. but it doesn't. You need attorneys, CPAs for taxes, bankers for loans, etc. So having more actually creates MORE anxiety rather than reduce it.

We are all wealthy and the anxieties for us maybe having a job, maybe its making sure you have health care, the size of your house, the car you drive, etc. These issues come out in the form of fear of those who may take away our "wealth". We worry about immigrants stealing jobs, not having health care, or terrorists who take away our peace and security. Of course in most countries any of this issues is a luxury, but for us we must find promises of keeping these comforts.

What I wrestle with, is how should a Christian respond to all of this. Certainly some of these issues are important, but when do they cross into an idol? How do I avoid missing an opportunity to share the Gospel b/c I don't want to give up something I feel entitled to? Paul was willing to become a Jew to convert the Jew, and Christians are taught not to be anxious. This time of year politicians on both sides love to expose our anxieties, and go so far as to poke and prod us to become even more anxious. How I wish the Gospel caused me the same "anxiety" to share.
Anonymous said…
Fear - my shallow thoughts... It was after Pearl Harbour that America started taking control of the rest of the world in different ways. That made other people cross. Now I fear America because other people are cross with it and America vows to destroy them. That's why I want the Democrats to win - other people will have much less reason to be cross with America and America will no longer be someone who seeks to dominate the world. I will love America when a Democrat gets in.

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