Truth/Lies... and fear...

FDR's quote "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." A lie if ever there was one.

Here it is in full: So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

I freely admit: It is a fantastic sound bite. It's easy to remember, and it seems like it's true, until you look deeper.

I tried to re-write it, switching words around, trading a word here or there, but nothing works. The quote is a lie, on so many levels. So, now I'm going to dissect it.

Consider that this is a God-fearing nation. This requires a little research into the original meanings of words. I can remember songs about feeling gay, and it still only meant being happy. I remember when rainbows only meant a cool light effect compliments of water in the atmosphere and a promise from God. I remember when queer only meant odd.

When the King James version of the Bible was translated, God fearing meant to be God loving. So, yea, maybe I'm stretching on this one. My prerogative. Being a wordsmith lends one to looking at the meaning of every word, and choosing carefully. This also allowed me to mention some of the first thoughts that popped into my head when I recently heard this quote thrown out. That being said, it also ties in to what I dislike most about this quote.

The quote, which is rarely used in its entirety, implies that fear is wrong. Fear is not necessarily a bad thing. Fear is, in fact, a God-given gift. That little voice that whispers this isn't safe is often a warning. I attended a church congregation of singles for several years. One of my dear friends was very popular with the men. I was not. It was actually quite funny. If the guys treated me like a stop-gap for talking to her, she would not go out with them. I was her early-warning system on jerks. However, I remember one guy with whom she sometimes sat. I avoided him. I wouldn't look at him. I even sat elsewhere if he was sitting with her. If he passed me in the hall, I would look down at the floor. Life happens, and we didn't see each other for a while. Then my friend and I were catching up with another woman, who asked about this guy. I admitted that I didn't even know his name, and didn't want to know. My friend congratulated me on my predator radar. She wasn't his type, so she wasn't worried about being nice to him. She also admitted that she never planned to introduce us, because she knew, but since I avoided him, she never had to worry about it. My initial fear, which I did not understand, protected me. A gift from God.

This particular quote was made in reference to the monetary problems of the depression. There were parents who were genuinely fearful about whether or not they would be able to feed their children that day, and the next, and the next. I remember when I lost my job and I had a dog to feed and a horse to feed and stable. The fear was gut wrenching. How was I going to take care of them? I'd promised I would. They were the closest thing I had to children of my own, and I felt the full weight of the responsibility of being their caretaker. I cried in fear of making ends meet. I took a job I hated, but it paid the bills. In my line of work, as a private contractor, there is always the fear of my work going away. And it did. Sometimes I'm scared silly...

Well, here's the problem: I tried to tell myself that the only thing to fear was fear itself. It didn't help. When you are the survivor of abuse, you know that fear is the least of your problems. Fear is the warning bell. Pay attention! Pretending like there's nothing to fear can get you hurt really badly or worse. There are people out there who enjoy hurting others, who enjoy taking advantage of others. Fear is a healthy tool to keep us on our toes and aware.

Yes, FDR did continue by clarifying "nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes," but how often do you hear the rest of it? And were the fears the American people facing at that time truly unjustified? He minimized their problem. About the only thing I can say that's true about his statement is that if you're paralyzed by fear, you don't do anything.

"Doing nothing solves nothing." How's that for a sound bite?