Fear controls everybody?

Question

This is not a question. It's more of an idea of mine which I would like some feedback on:

Lately I’ve come to terms with how prevalent fear is in today’s society and how much people are controlled by it. One large example is religion. People believe in religion because they fear the afterlife, they fear going to “Hell”, they fear what they do not know. So they take up religion because it gives them safety and comfort that they will be safe in the next life. Ignorance is bliss. Telling yourself lies about how you have a safe haven after you die is comforting to people. It is also why religious people are so intolerant to listen to anything else. They don’t want to imagine a reality where they are wrong and not safe. But that is only one example. Why do people wear clothes that they think are “cool”? Because they fear being rejected by society. They fear being different. Why are people nice to each other? No matter what bullshit people say about why they treat each other nicely there are only two reasons they do. One is that they want something from the person and two is that they fear the consequences of being mean to that person. Fear is why boys in middle school always act so shyly around girls. Its why they act so polite and try to control what is really on their mind (s*x). They fear pissing the girl off. Girls use make up and worry about how the look because they fear not being “pretty enough”. Advertisers use fear to convince people to buy their products. Governments use fear saying that they are the only ones who can protect people from oppression and dictatorship. Fear is everywhere. It controls us. It controls our thoughts. It controls our actions. It is only when we get the courage to rebuke our fears that we can be free to make our own decisions and think our own thoughts. That is true freedom.

Answer 1

Hmmm.....I think you may be generalizing a bit too much.

Not everybody believes in religion because they're afraid of the afterlife.  Some people don't "take up' religion.  Ever since they were born, they were taught that it was true.  Just like way back then, when everyone thought the earth was flat.  They didn't "choose" to believe it, they all just took it as a fact of life. And there was no real evidence to prove that it was flat, either (until a certain point).

And I, for example, don't choose my clothes because of fear of rejection.  Rather, I choose my clothes because I think they're "cool," and for the admiration from others (if I'm being perfectly honest).  I don't fear not having their admiration, but I do want it.

And there ARE people who are nice to each other, just because they like to.  It wasn't fear that made me buy a bunch of candy and handed it out to complete strangers for free.  It was because I love seeing the expression on their face, at the random act of kindness.

But yes, fear is a huge part in controlling our actions.  But it doesn't control all of it.  I think love and hate can control us, too.  But yes, you are absolutely right when you say true freedom is when we can rise above our fear.

Answer 2

Here is another one to add to your list. Guys are afraid to even talk to some women because they are afraid that if they say the wrong thing they will be sued or charged with some kind of sexual misconduct.

The world is a very messed up place. I dress the way I do and people are afraid that I'm some evil biker dude that will kill them for even looking at me. I have my reasons for the clothes I wear and maybe someday we can get into that.

Answer 3

Yes. Fear is the great controller. The biggest one fear is fear of death. Mankind has tapped that one and came up with warriors, soldiers, guns and ammunition, etc.

There are other similar fears- Fear of pain (bullying) destruction of property and assets (terrorism) and fear of being singled out of the "IN" crowd and ostracized -sanctions-(constantly tapped by economists and management  and used on individuals and groups).

This last one impacts on your ability to eat and maintain a shelter over your head.

Your other points are of course - correct. Fear (yours) has long been recognized as a weapon to use against you.

Who has learned how to use your own fears against you?

You have listed some in your question, but you forgot your religion, clergy, school officials, doctors, dentists, vets, grocer, gardener, media, police force, military, family, among others.

Civilization of course believe that a HEALTHY FEAR of authority is part and parcel of maintaining law and order.

Answer 4

i know it sucks. we can beat it tho.. mind is more powerful than the little fear it manifests

Answer 5

in general I'd agree, perhaps not so vehemently.

Answer 6

Without fear we cannot survive, it protects in life, Fight or flight is essential to our very survival. Nothing can motivate man more then fear except love. It is "the love of God, which casts out all fear."  Even so have these truths been declared on our world.

P.556 - §4 2. Few persons live up to the faith which they really have. Unreasoned fear is a master intellectual fraud practiced upon the evolving mortal soul.http://www.urantia.org/papers/paper48.ht...

P.2083 - §2 Primitive man lived a life of superstitious bondage to religious fear. Modern, civilized men dread the thought of falling under the dominance of strong religious convictions. Thinking man has always feared to be held by a religion. When a strong and moving religion threatens to dominate him, he invariably tries to rationalize, traditionalize, and institutionalize it, thereby hoping to gain control of it. By such procedure, even a revealed religion becomes man-made and man-dominated. Modern men and women of intelligence evade the religion of Jesus because of their fears of what it will do to them--and with them. And all such fears are well founded. The religion of Jesus does, indeed, dominate and transform its believers, demanding that men dedicate their lives to seeking for a knowledge of the will of the Father in heaven and requiring that the energies of living be consecrated to the unselfish service of the brotherhood of man.

Answer 7

Fear is not the primary or sole determinant of behaviour

To answer your confusion about "Religion"  true relationship with God

is not fear, but LOVE.

Low self esteem accounts for the cult "Celebrity"

IGNORANCE is the patron of FEAR ..and fear is the cowardice

of ignorance.

Figure that to mean cowardice is the "controller"  

.

Answer 8

wow that wuz a nice speech...and i highly agree on you on this whole subject i thought my friend and i were the only ones who thought like this and actually understood it...well most of it at least but i think we need fear in life that's what keeps us going no matter how tough things get its what keeps us alive and yes it gives us freedom if we learn to get over our fears. i dont really know how or why but if we didnt have fear in life this world would end real quickly. i think it has something to do with balance you cant have one without the other rite?? sorry if im comletely wrong on all this (give me a break im still learning and i just woke up so i cant really think straight) this is kind of going off topic but about the whole balance situation (if you even believe in balance) if you took away all fear in the world then things would get violent (more violent than it is now) balance goes for pretty much everything water for example the opposite of fire if we took away water on this planet (which we need to survive) everyone would die of thirst all part of balance its why we have fear hope this makes a little bit of sense to you :]

Answer 9

To me FEAR has always been out there as part of every day life, and we were not taught from child hood to not dwell on fear,do not do that as it will? so fear is in those words, we just develop what we can to counteract it,once we were old eonugh to think or question fear.

Now as adults we can let fear control us [ not saying to throw caution to the wind] or we can go deeper into the sub-concious mind and do some changing. Our sub-concious does not know right from wrong or to question what the concious mind puts into it.

I am trying to now in my senior years to make some of those changes.

I know there is something one can do to change the way we think as over all else the mind tells the body what to do and think, so each one of us has a task to do constantly.

True fear is tossed at us every moment of the day or nite, and if we let it will step in and take over, or we can do the reprograming and do better. After all isn't that our goal is to be better?  

Answer 10

We usually fear what we do not understand so the key is to know what you fear and why. It's in the mind, really. Once you begin to see that the only power fear has is the power you give to it, then it drops away from you and you are free. A helpful method is to do "outcropping" in which you allow your mind to freely move from one thought to another. You quietly observe your thoughts as they come and go. It's one method of eliminating unnecessary memories imbued with emotions such as fear. See them for what they are in the clear light and they will lose their power.

I can agree with you on the use of fear when it comes to religion and this is deplorable for use on young minds. We want to encourage young people to be courageous, strong, and venturesome - stretch their minds - but if they are held back by fear they do not progress as normal people should. This is just my opinion and I'm sure others have as much to say on the subject.

This might be a digression but it reminds me of a great pianist (might have been Duke Ellington, I think) whose young son came up to him and announced he was running away from home that very day (perhaps for the third time) and his father says to him, "Son, make me a cheese and lettuce sandwich before you go." The irony is that what looks life-threatening and highly charged to some may not be more than a passing phase of growing up to others.

"The only thing to fear is fear itself!"

Answer 11

I sense that for many, if not all, fear is there primarily to provide protection for life. It is kinda like a circuit breaker to foolish behavior.

Problem is, that the mind, depending on it's developement can decide to determine what to be afraid of as much as say normal instinct.

It is interesting stuff you speak of as fear of anything CAN and will/does alter behavior. Just as in all things associated with human behavior, if we did not have fear, we likely would not survive to reproduce and thus would end the species. So, as in all things, fear comes to humanity in varianing amounts. Some fear more, some less.

Some challenge fear and go beyond and some NEVER would do that.

I question the concept of TRUE FREEDOM. I don't think many would survive if they employed true freedom.

FEAR serves a very valuable service as relates to physical survival.