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Tuesday, 14 November 2006 14:19 |
| | Janese Johnson |
"The hens they all cackle, the roosters all beg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
For I hear the talk of pollution and war
As the people all shout and the airplane roar,
So Iëm staying in here where itës safe and itës warm,
And I WILL NOT HATCH!"
ÇƒÏ Shel Silverstein
ï
When someone asks you, "When did our nation become one of fear?" without questioning the question, you most likely will answer with the date of Sept 11, 2001.
This
day has and still remains tragic for most Americans. Not only did we
lose so many people through acts of violence, we also lost a bit of our
ability to reason clearly. Many of you will probably agree that, yes,
it is tragic that so many Americans died that day, but will disagree
with the assertion that our reasoning has been altered in the aftermath.
It has been
scientifically proven that when humans and animals become afraid, their
bodies and brains react differently. This adrenaline-filled reaction to
stress was coined "fight-or-flight" by American physiologist Walter
Cannon in the 1920s. Cannon observed that animals, including humans,
react to threats with a hormonal discharge of the nervous system. There
is an outpouring of vessel-constricting, heart-thumping hormones,
including noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and adrenaline (epinephrine),
followed by the steroid cortisol.
The heart speeds
up and pumps harder, the nerves fire more quickly, the skin cools and
gets goose bumps, the eyes dilate to see better and the brain receives
a message that it is time to act.
Due to this
fact, many leaders over the centuries have used fear as a tactic in
gaining control. We can see the use of fear with Mao, Hitler, Hussein,
cult and religious leaders, and the Bush administration. This does not
mean that we should walk through life in la-la land, and not be aware
of the possible dangers that can happen, it simply means that by seeing
our many choices, we can feel more empowered as a nation, and act from
a place of proactivity, not reactivity.
If we are
walking through the woods and we are told that there is a huge
copperhead snake somewhere up ahead (I just experienced this), then we
have quite a few choices and ways to respond. We could turn back, and
forget the beautiful journey; wait and see where the snake is when we
get closer; or foolishly walk over the snake and take a chance of
getting bit. The first choice is a choice of fear, and the last choice
is a choice of haste, but the middle choice is a choice of discernment
and reason.
What Marcus
Aurelius, who was the last of "the five good emperors" in Rome around
100 BC, says about fear still rings true today. He says " If you are
distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing
itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to
revoke at any moment".
It is up to each
of us on whether we want to be a nation of fear or a nation of
diplomacy. We will not be cattle in a herd if we are do not allow
ourselves to be manipulated easily. Instead, we will become empowered
citizens when we improve the clarity of our reasoning skills and come
up with new solutions. It is critical in these times that we wake up.
It must be done not only on an individual, but collective basis. If we
can all wake up just a bit, then together we can do a whole lot more
than if we are reacting to something that could happen.
Lets not bicker
about the small issues that keep us at each other. Letës come together
no matter what our ideology is and see that we can find a middle ground
that reflects what it is that we all want. We know that the need for
safety, love, and nourishment are all constant human desires. A uniform
nation is a nation that is usually controlled. We are a diversified
nation, so letës celebrate that and find ways to accept disagreements
and find what we can do in areas that we do agree on.
ï
Janese Johnson
has been doing intuitive counseling nationally for more than 20 years.
She may be contacted at janesej-at-buncombe.main.nc.us.
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