“We have nothing to fear…
… but fear itself” is how the quote goes. And we are all familiar with this quote. But I have a problem with it.
The idea for this Blog entry actually came to me while watching an episode of Batman the Animated Series. Please don’t turn away, this will all make sense…
The episode was called “Never Fear.” The antagonist in this episode was the Scarecrow. You may be familiar with him from “Batman Begins” the prequel to “The Dark Knight” that everybody saw. The Scarecrow is a villain that would accomplish his dastardly deeds usually by using some kind of gas that would instill fear into his victims. This particular episode of Batman The Animated Series had an unusual twist. The Scarecrow was accomplishing his tasks with a different kind of gas. It was a gas that would remove all fear of those who ingested it. This episode did a great job showing what can happen when an individual has no fear. And as Batman has so eloquently stated, “A little fear is a good thing.” One citizen normally scared of heights was found swinging from building to building spiderman style and almost killed himself until Batman saved him. In another instance, Batman ingested some of the gas himself and almost broke his one rule, he almost killed someone. That someone was a bad guy, but none the less, Batman NEVER kills.
This brings me to my point today. During the 90s and up until recently, this country as a whole, lost all fear.
The Borrowers weren’t scared to lie about their income.
The Lenders weren’t scared to look the other way.
People weren’t worried the house wouldn’t sell for more $$$ in 5 years.
They weren’t worried to buy 2 or more houses (that they couldn’t afford) to try and flip for more money.
The Lenders weren’t scared to give them the loans for the 2nd or 3rd houses.
Now look at this country. People are losing jobs at an alarming rate, and it is not getting any better in the near future. This is something we should have feared. I know not everyone took advantage of the system, but now everyone is paying one way or another, if it’s you, a loved one, or someone close, we are in hard times.
How many of you can tell me what the next words in FDR’s speech are? Not many can, they are:
“—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
That is what FDR was trying to say; we should not fear nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror. But, what we are going through now, has reason, and is justified. Maybe a little fear isn’t a bad thing.
