May 15 2009
Epidemic of Fear [Excerpts]
The devastating epidemic is spread by dread, of course -- dread powered by distortion, gossip and sensationalist greed.
The swine flu of 2009 is a threat, but another plague immediately associated with this genuine viral killer deserves to be slammed and canned for the manipulative and exploitative corn it is.
I refer to the Epidemic of Fear, a plague insistently poised to infect the entire planet.
This completely human-transmitted pox twists or ignores facts and seeds individual, institutional and international distrust. It stunts rational decision-making and promotes panic. When it strikes and persists, entire populations become vulnerable to the absurd but deadly toxins of conspiracy theorists.
Fear is truly "pandemic," with "all people" in the sense of the Greek roots (pan plus demos) at risk. Being human, at times, definitely means being scared.
http://www.strategypage.com/on_point/20090429134229.aspx
[TBC: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy:1:7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.).]
