Fear Overcomes Reason

In chapter one of his book The Assault on Reason, Al Gore writes about the relationship between fear and reason. Both, he says, are necessary for survival. Yet fear can shut down reason. This, he posits, is what has happened in America in recent years.

Surely Mr. Gore is right about this, even as others have made the same observation. We are a long way from President Franklin Roosevelt's statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. The message of the current administration is Be afraid, be very afraid.

This is a big subject and much can be said. For a further understanding you may consult Gore's book and also The Culture of Fear by Glassner.

Let us not be consumers of fear. Rather let us be consumers of knowledge and purveyors of reason. Such an approach is the only true antidote to unreasonable fear.