Consequences Regarding a Culture of Fear

"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."– Bertrand Russell

Part 1:  Consequences Regarding a Culture of Fear

 Do you think collectively, as a nation, that we are feeling safe or unsafe? The NRA suggested that we better arm our teachers so they can outgun the bad guys.  Thinking back to elementary school days, I can’t think of too many of my teachers that I’d want packing a gun.  How many of your teachers do you want to have a 357 magnum at their side?  Incidentally, there was armed security at the Columbine school but they were easily out- gunned by the students .This country has 5% of the world’s population and 50% of the guns. It appears to me that we have enough guns in this country. It is also clear that we do not feel safe or secure.

Look at all of the tools and aids that we have to distort reality. We can go see an action movie, read a novel, purchase an electronic war game, and go on an athletic or arts event. These activities helps to mask an underlying insecurity but only for   a short period. If these activities don’t work, we have a number of other options. We can visit a doctor to get an opium based prescription medication , find illegal drugs, purchase alcohol, or even drink a lot of caffeine to distort our emotional state.

If you watch or listen to the news you are bombarded about doom and gloom i.e. our economy( fiscal cliff), our dysfunctional Congress, our politics of fear and “what if”,  local government  budget concerns, health  issues,  corporation and Wall Street  corruptions , war - embassy fatalities,  Middle East uprisings- riots,9-11  and don’t forget Newtown- Sandy Hook and other  man-made problems. I’m sure you can add to my list. On top of that there are natural disasters such as Katrina, Sandy, that add to our being in an “unsafe”, unpredictable, anxiety producing stressful world.

Prehistoric man had to confront enemies like wild animals, hunger, drought and the hot and cold temperature. Within his brain he had neurotransmitters that included serotonin, nor epinephrine, and dopamine. High levels of these chemicals are involved in emotions of fear and sadness which are the driving forces behind   stress and anxiety and depression. High levels of nor epinephrine are involved in producing fear (fight, flight or freeze) in the amygdala which is the stress response to threatening stimuli. So chemical imbalances occur within when we have to deal with threatening circumstances. In addition, the prefrontal, temporal cortex and the limbic system are involved in the production and maintenance of emotional states. And in the cortex we perceive what’s happening around us and then think about it in productive or irrational ways. Not only that but we know retain memories concerning the threatening stimulus or stressful event. These memories are aroused through the hippo campus and the amygdala. This process assigns an emotion to our thoughts. In other words, emotion produced comes from the interaction of all these parts of the brain (the hippo campus, amygdala, limbic system)   and are especially important for the negative emotional states that accompany stress, anxiety and depression.

To be continued.