What To Really Fear

Fear is something special. As we grow closer to the time of year when haunted houses, scary movies, and the darkness envelop us more, what should we actually fear?

Fear and What's Actually Scary

Fear is an interesting thing. Most people experience fear. Consider the things you are afraid of. Now, consider why you fear those particular things. What causes those fears?

People suffer from the fear of heights, tight spaces, spiders, snakes, bats, fire, and chainsaws. Yes, chainsaws. That's why it's common in haunted houses for the final fright to be from a masked man with a chainsaw.

Perhaps, if you're a Generation X kid, your parents watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with you in the room when you were too young. Perhaps you've seen it and know they're dangerous.

A fully grown man may have a seemingly irrational fear of dogs. That is, until he tells you about the summer of 1995, when he was attacked by a dog so vicious it took the man off his motorcycle, tore into his skin, and tried to go for his neck before the man had to kill the dog. Then that fear makes sense.

All of these are worthwhile fears. They're things to be cautious of through inherent dangers or the wisdom of experience. But are they actually scary? Are they the things that go bump in the night?

What about bigger scares? Those are the bigger-scale things that pose a threat. Are you scared of them? Do you know what they are?

Consider the state of the world. We've been on the brink of war, or at war, for a quarter of a century. In one form or another, we're in constant conflict with other countries. First, it was 9/11. Then it was Iraq. Then all over the muslim world. Then Ukraine. And now, Iran. We've been actively or passively fighting someone for 25 years.

Then, there's the fight at home. The United States feels like the Divided States in the 21st century. Whenever you turn on the news, there are protests somewhere. And these aren't peaceful sign-holders, standing and chanting, or being non-combative. These are people actually breaking the law and, in many cases, being emboldened by so-called leaders to do so. Whenever there's violence or potentially violent encounters, it can strike fear into the hearts of observers.

Do you fear what's going on in America, or around the world?

The Real Fears

The real fears should be remembered when you think about fear. And there are real things to be afraid of.

When you think about what you're afraid of, or what has ever caused the hairs on your neck to stand up, or when feelings of sure darkness have surrounded you, what caused it?

Was it a bump-in-the-night situation, or was it a run-of-the-mill, everyday human?

The real fears people should have are of the evils in this world. And there is more than one kind of evil. But evil is often misinterpreted. People who genuinely aren't for the majority evil struggle to understand evil.

For example, I once encountered this feeling about someone that made me think of a monologue by Donald Pleasence, AKA Dr. Samuel Loomis. Most of you probably recognize the name or know the character.

"I met this...six-year-old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and...the blackest eyes, the Devil's eyes."

-Donald Pleasence (Dr. Samuel Loomis), Halloween, 1978

Imagine meeting someone that dark, that horrifyingly scary- those are the words that come to mind.

It happened to me in the 1990s. And it wasn't a six-year-old. But it was a 9-year-old boy. And it wasn't the 9-year-old that scared me. It was what he was to become someday that scared me. Because of his litany of offenses, considering the nature of each one and the sheer number of them, only a miracle would keep this boy from becoming a monster.

And there are monsters among us. They walk the streets, they work by our side, and they live in our neighborhoods. And no, you can't find them on a registry. For every monster yet to be named is only one action away from becoming the next major news story somewhere.

And that's what is really scary about the world.

For all of the other things that leaders tell you to fear have always been there. When Putin and Biden rattled the nuclear sabres, it was something we've lived with since before the end of the Cold War. And there's nothing that 99.9999999 percent of us can do about it.

But the hidden monsters, the multiple active serial killers, unidentified and running loose in the world, and the politicians with their secret agendas are far scarier than the oogly boogly monsters of Halloween, scary movies, and creepy things in the dark.

Enjoy what's coming, and remember, it's good to be scared.