How much fear do we live in?

[ninerbuff]

It just seems to me that doom and gloom is the subject of just about everything in the media these days and that we are mentally shellacked with negative news daily just so Neilsen ratings are good.
We live in fear of children playing outside, riding on a plane, home invasions, etc. and to "protect" ourselves we are buying more guns, putting bars on windows, and de socializing with anyone who we don't have any background on.
I do believe we need to be aware and safe, but at what expense? Causing fear in people is how we become susceptible to control and manipulation.
Thoughts?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

No fear here but I'm drugged up pretty good.

 

[ninerbuff]

No fear here but I'm drugged up pretty good.

Ah but what if that drug was deemed to be harmful by the FDA?

 

[Caladan]

It just seems to me that doom and gloom is the subject of just about everything in the media these days and that we are mentally shellacked with negative news daily just so Neilsen ratings are good.
We live in fear of children playing outside, riding on a plane, home invasions, etc. and to "protect" ourselves we are buying more guns, putting bars on windows, and de socializing with anyone who we don't have any background on.
I do believe we need to be aware and safe, but at what expense? Causing fear in people is how we become susceptible to control and manipulation.
Thoughts?

WOW. is this an accurate description of American life by the average American citizen?

As a kid in Israel, I used to play outside. all the time. at all times. hell, even in the first gulf war, we would go and pick up the wreckage of Iraqi Scud missiles intercepted by American made surface to air missiles, which had their first trial by fire in our region.

Riding on a plan is by far mine and my family's favourite way to travel. and just to reassure you, statistically it is also the safest way to travel.

Home invasions?
By who? Ze Germans?

As for guns. in general the only place in which Israelis carry assault rifles is in the armed forces.

For socializing. my best friends are a melange of Persians Jews, German Jews, Eastern European Jews, and other Middle eastern Jews.
we find ourself socialise in broader ways with Europeans or Americans when the opportunity arises.

 

[Bismillah]

How much fear do I live in: As an American bare minimum.

From the Muslim minority that many think to be under attack.

 

[Songbird]

I don't sense an overall feeling of fear in America. Fear got old.

 

[Songbird]

It just seems to me that doom and gloom is the subject of just about everything in the media these days and that we are mentally shellacked with negative news daily just so Neilsen ratings are good.
We live in fear of children playing outside, riding on a plane, home invasions, etc. and to "protect" ourselves we are buying more guns, putting bars on windows, and de socializing with anyone who we don't have any background on.
I do believe we need to be aware and safe, but at what expense? Causing fear in people is how we become susceptible to control and manipulation.
Thoughts?

I think it's what you mentioned in your first sentence - media hype. Most of us don't seem to actually live in fear. I think it used to be more of a cultural sense of fear, but we caught on to the hype.

 

[Engyo]

"Something in your everyday environment is killing you! Details at 11."

 

[Penumbra]

It just seems to me that doom and gloom is the subject of just about everything in the media these days and that we are mentally shellacked with negative news daily just so Neilsen ratings are good.
We live in fear of children playing outside, riding on a plane, home invasions, etc. and to "protect" ourselves we are buying more guns, putting bars on windows, and de socializing with anyone who we don't have any background on.
I do believe we need to be aware and safe, but at what expense? Causing fear in people is how we become susceptible to control and manipulation.
Thoughts?

The media does indeed play a big role. I don't live in fear, and most people I know are just living their lives. A good amount of caution is necessary, though, because realistic major problems can't be pretended away.

And some people don't have a job, and can't make ends meet for themselves and their families. It's fairly reasonable for them to fear.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

It just seems to me that doom and gloom is the subject of just about everything in the media these days and that we are mentally shellacked with negative news daily just so Neilsen ratings are good.
We live in fear of children playing outside, riding on a plane, home invasions, etc. and to "protect" ourselves we are buying more guns, putting bars on windows, and de socializing with anyone who we don't have any background on.
I do believe we need to be aware and safe, but at what expense? Causing fear in people is how we become susceptible to control and manipulation.
Thoughts?

That's just what it is. Our government uses the media to implant fear into the mind, so it makes us easier to control. As Rufus Shinra said on Final Fantasy VII, why spend a fortune controlling the world with money, when you can control it with fear?

 

[Skwim]

How much fear do we live in? I'd say about three quarts or 2.8391 liters.

 

[ninerbuff]

In honesty, had there not been all the ballyhoo about the banks and mortgages failing, except for housing prices and our TSP/IRA's, I probably would have been oblivious (based on my day to day experiences) to the current economy since nothing much but gas has gone up. Of course I'm also a cheap skate so I haven't been spending any more money than I have to since I'm more concerned about ensuring I don't have to really worry about money after turning 60.
But talking of fear throughout the media has some people frozen. I have some FB friends who are convinced that there are no jobs for them out there since the media confirms things like high unemployment rates, etc.

 

[Perry456]

I see both sides of this argument. I am definitely not one to really involve myself with daily news for that exact reason. Everything constantly going on around the world scares me and essentially makes me sad for what is possible in our lives. But at the same time, it is the duty of journalists to report on these things and inform the people. And the most powerful weapon, I believe, is knowledge. In many ways, this fear factor of the news is intended to protect us. It is to help us learn about ways to avoid these disasterous things. I guess it is one of those things that does not really have a right solution.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

"That's right. I'll let you hear my new appointment speech. ...My old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them."- Rufus Shinra

Yes it's a fictional scenario, but it still pretty much sums up your typical politician. Fictional characters can be great archetypes of the real thing.

 

[ninerbuff]

So with what's going on in Japan right now, the media is already trying to scare us with predictions that the West coast is susceptible to an event similar to Japan's.
Duh, it's not like we on the West coast have never experienced an earthquake and really if it did happen here and a tsunami swept through the Bay Area, what could we do to stop it?
This is part of life and everyone lives in an area that susceptible to some natural disaster.