Understanding Our Fear
The solution to our problem in this fearful society is to study more how groups and individual brain work. Grasping the idea of mental illness can be a solution to many problems we face through out America's culture. Anxiety and worry begin create problems within problems that we are losing sleep over not worth losing. In Systematic Thinking About How We *Package* Our Worries by Mary Catherine Bateson, she discusses topics of issues that we are facing in our country, but the bigger issue being how we approach the problems we face.
One topic Bateson focuses on is global warming. The word global warming itself communicates a far too comfortable meaning to people, and words of “extreme climate change and conditions" is what really grabs people's attention. Bateson states that seriousness of global warming may cause us to enter a nuclear warfare, and even this still is not society true concern.
Global warming, or extreme climate change solution does not start at surface level. The concern and tactic that needs to be done to help people understand the serve danger of these events taking place in our lives is to psychologically understand how individual's brains function. The simple answer to solve global warming is to take action steps to reduce our waste, turn off lights, use more efficient light bulbs, manage the water supply and the list goes so on. Bateson states in order for our society to be able to take these action steps, there needs to be an understanding of social psychology. Our country runs off of fear. The reason our society does not understand the significance of climate change is because fear has not caused anyone to act. These steps will not take place until our society understands the seriousness of them. Bateson makes the point of the word global warming itself being too nice of a word to enable someone to take action. Once it is worded differently to rapid climate change and severe weather conditions, does it begin to capture people’s attention. It is saddening that our society has become fear driven.
For example, the fear of terrorism has created our culture to react to the point of banning Muslims and making plans to do so. The fear of the over population of our country and immigrants stealing jobs has produced the idea of building a wall. The core to the reaction of our society is fear. Once we understand the social psychology of fear and anxiety, then we will be able to tackle our problems. The reaction of culture to band Muslims rather than make a difference in climate change is a prime example of this. The reason one is more instilled in our society than another is because fear has created an illusion in the eyes of our society. It has created an irrational problem bigger than the other that is actually is the real issue.
The fact of intense climate change is evident. 2017 is reaching the point to be the second-hottest year. The temperature is raising above the average as years go by, and what Scientist thought to be a natural increase and decrease of temperature is only increasing. On the other hand, Since 9/11, Muslim-American terrorism have taken 33 lives in the United States, out of more than 180,000 murders committed in the United States during the same time period. Even in the mist of these facts, the response of Americans remains. In society's head, terrorist is what we should be making laws against and global warning is just a “hoax.” This fear has enabled people groups to retaliate.
In the Article The New Age of Anxiety Gary Klein argues that we already have to many worries to worry about that keep us up at night. The problem is not internal but external. The reason he believes this is because the Media and Science drive our worry. Everyday science creates this new list of fears, then the media is happy to generate it to our society. The problem is the media is highlighting the wrong things. It sounds terrible that we have to control our society by using fear to grab the attention of the audience, but this is what times have come to. People no longer listen to facts but listen to the producer. Klein states in his article that even a good hint of news is glazed with fear. We finally get rid of a terrible disease, but the media places back in our minds that terrorist are going to come into our country and bring it back. Fear is what grabs the attention of the audience. Fear and anxiety about situations is what drives people to make decision. We decided a safe place to live. We do not Muslims in our country because we want to be safe. We want stricter gun laws so more people can be safe. We want to protect the traditional marriage. The motive behind America is ultimately safety. The way to enforce people to make the right decisions, is to use fear for our good. Klein wants there to be no fear at all, but just like someone can use stress as a source of motivation. Our society can use fear as a factor of change.
Fear and anxiety is what drives us to make decisions and be motivated to make a change. Once we understand to communicate what our society should be fearing, this is when progress will begin to take place. This will cause a shift in action. Fear and anxiety often blind individual's to what the real problem is. This can happen even in the mist of facts being laid directly in someone's face. Denial is inevitable to happen because each human in embedded with the human nature to believe that there way is the right way. Once our society receives a better understanding on how to communicate facts with fear, instead of attempting to shove facts down someones throat that is set in there ways, this is when people will grasp the understanding of the true reality. Like most things in life, to find the solution to a problem it starts at the core. We have to understand the way our society thinks in order for there to be a change.
It starts with the mental mind process before actions will begin to form and minds will begin to change. The prompt of an idea has to grab the attention the audience in order for us to understand the seriousness of it. The word global warming does not grab the attention like threatening terrorist does. Even though terrorism is a irrational fear in people's minds, it is the fear that drives them. To be able to embed this action orientated fear into the things that actually matter, into the things that are actually effecting us, well it would be revolutionary.