Fear is Afoot. . .

Fear is afoot! How close is Fear moving from walking amongst us to running amok over us. Will the waves of Fear that wash over us become the tsunami that destroys us? Thanks to social media we are reminded minute by minute of the fears we hold or of the fears that we should now hold. Paris on 13 November, 2015 confirmed, once again, that we are vulnerable to those who are determined to fill us with Fear. This morning steps are being taken to ensure the safety of those who will be visiting many professional football stadiums later today. How many of us believe that the efforts taken will ensure our safety? How many of us have a sense, if not a belief, that no matter the efforts taken a determined and well-organized small group can cause great harm – we are not as safe as we hope to be.

‘Paris’ woke us up and reminded us that we are truly vulnerable; what first-world city has been taking more precautions against a terrorist attack these past months than Paris – and yet… This type of awareness does not bring comfort; this type of awareness brings disturbance. Each of us responds ‘personally’ to the reality that I am, that you are and that we are truly vulnerable. We also have a collective response. France’s collective response today is rooted in their experience and our (we in the United States) collective response is different because we have not had their experience (yes, we experienced 9-ll and that was fourteen years ago; time and distance have supported an illusion that we are ‘safe’ – at minimum we choose not to be aware of how vulnerable we truly are).

The more fear a collective has the more vulnerable the collective is to what Thomas Merton called ‘organized despair.’ The collective uses more and more resources in order to ensure its protection from the Fear while at the same time moving closer and closer to resignation – no matter what we attempt to do to ensure our safety in the end we are still vulnerable. So, why even try? The ancient Greeks, among others, would say ‘Fate’ not ‘Fear’ will decide for you – so why fight it.

Fear can unite the collective. A united collective is at risk of over-reacting – naming a collective threat and attacking it, for example. This reaction is rooted in a ‘scapegoating’ belief: ‘If we get rid of THEM then we will be safe.’ We forget that the collective seems to need an ‘IT’ to focus on – we in the United States historically have sought an ‘IT’ to focus on (we are not the only collective to continue to do so); ISIS is one of our collective external ‘ITs’ today.

Fear can also divide the collective. This dividing moves the Fear from ‘out there’ to ‘in here.’ The Fear resides within the collective and we must name it and root it out (Senator Joseph McCarthy is one role-model for our country – he taught us how to be afraid of the negative internal forces that were afoot; forces he believed and many of us came to believe were ‘IT’). Today, for example, the collective is ‘Fear-full’ of the illegal immigrant (perhaps with Paris 11-13 the collective’s Fear of all immigrants will increase).

As a follower of Jesus the Christ I strive to embrace and live into and out of a belief that love and compassion drives out Fear. The first letter of John reminds me that ‘In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by love.’ Behind Fear is Courage waiting to be called forth. I cannot change the world; I can, however, strive to relate to each person I meet rooted in love and compassion. If enough ‘Is’ choose to do this then Fear will, indeed, be driven out.