Fear

My fellow Bloggerator recently wrote about a spate of child abductions in NSW and, amongst other things, said that:

With no official statement from police and left with many differing news reports of these events, we have to assume that releasing any official statements would lead to a greater fear in the community

Fear is a basic, primal emotion - and it serves an important purpose. Fear is what prevents a person or animal from doing an activity which is dangerous.

For example, I used to be afraid of heights. I have it under control now - I know that I can climb a ladder or get up on a house roof if I need to - I just don't like doing it, and if I'm up there I make very sure that the ladder is steady and I watch where I'm walking.

This isn't an irrational fear by any means. If I were to fall off a roof, I would get hurt. Fear forces me to keep my wits about me and pay attention.

So why is "fear in the community" such a bad thing?

Knowing that there are child abductors at large would surely cause parents to be more diligent in protecting their children. They would make sure that they didn't walk home alone, or waited at school or a friend's house until they could be picked up.

But "fear in the community" is not about this at all. The concerned about is the public realising that the police cannot protect them. The rule of law only exists when citizens believe that the police can enforce it.

Therefore, they are very good at publicising arrests and successes, but usually avoid discussing failures, or a lack of leads in a case. Governments, too, have a interesting relationship with fear, and quite a mixed one.

On the one hand, they reassure the community that they are in control - that they can protect us from the bad guys (criminals, terrorists). Provided that we re-elect them. On the other hand, they have much to gain by keeping us afraid. The terrorists are out there, amongst us, and so in order to protect us they need the ability to track our movements, read our e-mails, listen to our phone calls and watch us on CCTV cameras.

The extent to which we are suffer these encroachments is directly proportional to our fear. Benjamin Franklin famously wrote "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

It is therefore important that we listen to our fears, but control them rather than letting fear control us. There is a Swedish proverb which says that "Fear is a light that gives a small thing a large shadow." And it is very true: Fear is not always rational.

Why are people afraid of terrorism? Terrorists kill people, this is true. We can be afraid of losing our lives. But, if fear of death is sufficient reason to control our actions, then why do we drive a car. Statistically, we are more likely to die through a car accident than a terrorist attack. In fact, the risk of being killed by a falling coconut or being eaten by a hippopotamus is higher.

Do we ban cars? Hardly. We mitigate the risk by enforcing speed limits and road worthiness of cars. But the government and councils rake in millions of dollars in petrol tax, registration fees, tolls and parking fees (and fines) - there is no vested interest in limiting or reducing the number of vehicles on the road. But for a government that maintains authority through fear, there is an interest in monitoring what citizens say and do, where they go and with whom they meet.

Certainly, we should listen to our fears. They exist to aid us in recognising danger. But we must also ensure that our fears are logically proportional to the danger we face. And we should also ensure that our fears are OUR fears - not those imposed upon us for a political agenda.