A Case for Super Powers

Fear and Loathing

I've decided that the flag of the United States of America...Old Glory, as she's called...should be replaced. It should be replaced by something which better captures the spirit of what America is all about.

I nominate Edvard Munch's The Scream.

We as a culture are inundated by fear. We're surrounded by it. Our leaders, our media, our authority figures, our friends, parents, all tell us that nobody can be trusted, that we should be afraid, very afraid.

And, ironically, we are told to be afraid of...our leaders, our media, our authority figures, etc...along with our technology, our food, our medicine, our homes, our cities, our environment...neighbors, strangers, other races, other religions, people different from us, people the same as us, our own families, our own friends, our own bodies.

Sun, rain, snow, fog, all things to be feared. We are such a fearful culture, that they have coined quite possibly the most ridiculous phobia ever...

...fear of success.

Franklin Roosevelt said "we have nothing to fear but Fear itself"...well, that's good, because we're afraid of fear, too! They have commercials for Anxiety medication, what is anxiety? Fear.

"Do you suffer from Anxiety?"
"Shit, do I? Oh God, I think I do!"

We're afraid of moving out legs, because if we do, we might have Restless Leg Syndrome. But then, we don't take the medication, because...we're too afraid of the side-effects.

Fear is a fascinating subject to me. To be honest, I rarely experience it. Real, true, genuine fear is a rarity for me. I once saw a special on TV, and subsequently read about the phenomenon, of a man with a genetic predisposition to fearlessness. Apparently, there are a variety of genetic factors that influence a person's natural fear response, and the actual level of a person's fearfulness runs a large gamut from almost completely fearless to almost completely fearful...something which fascinates me, because of how it relates to the intro to this blog. Could fearlessness be considered a super power? Daredevil is nicknamed "the Man Without Fear"...and the Green Lantern Power Ring is supposed to go to a man who has never known fear. But is fearlessness truly an asset? Or is it, perhaps, a liability?

After all, if you are unafraid to walk across a busy street, that could certainly be quite hazardous to your health. Then again, is that truly a question of fear, or simply common sense?

I believe that I am somewhat on the "fearless" side of the genetic scale. I do not go walking across busy streets, but not because I am afraid to. Rather, I am aware that if I do, I may well be hit by a care, and whatever goal or goals I intend to accomplish, short-or-long-term, getting hit by a car would be counter-productive. It doesn't take that much more effort to walk to the nearest crosswalk.

Other situations that would give many other people fear do nothing to move me. Walking through a dark alley at night, for example. Walking through a bad neighborhood, for another. In the latter case, I believe fearlessness to be an asset. The thing to fear in a bad neighborhood is things like muggings. Muggers are predators. I mean that literally. They behave exactly like predators in the wild. If you do not feel fear, or at least do not show fear, you project confidence. A confident person is likely to have a reason to be confident. At any rate, a fearful, nervous person is more likely to be helpless/defenseless. Otherwise, why would they be afraid? And the fear itself is another tool that you can use to control them. A confident person simply isn't worth the risk to attack. A fearful person is always a safe bet. If you're a mugger, you're bound to see plenty of people walking by. Personally, I would let the confident one go by, and wait for a nice timid one. Separating the weak and the sick from the rest of the herd.

Remember the story of the two men running from the tiger. One says "we can never outrun this tiger!" and the other one says "I don't need to outrun the tiger; I only need to outrun you!"

You only need to be less worth the risk than the next guy who happens by.

On a different, but related note, I'm thinking about possibly starting a group, or perhaps a contest, for old pulp-style horror short stories...like Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft style. It could be set up like one of those old pulp magazines. I wonder if anybody would be interested...

And as far as the "Loathing" in the title...erm...that's just there for the Hunter Thompson reference.

Don't fear the reaper...