Why are people so fearful? Why do they feel it necessary to move far away from everyone who doesn’t look like them? Why do they buy guns? Why buy SUVs the size of armored personnel carriers?
Fear is so prevalent in our culture that maybe the better question is why I lack the common forms of it. I feel more uneasy in places with only white people. The thought of a gun in the house terrifies me. I have a greater fear of climate catastrophe than an auto accident requiring a massive vehicle.
I fear billionaires who aren’t content with staggering wealth, they need power as well. I fear people who would spend on missions to Mars instead of helping any inhabitant of Earth. I fear a culture that sucks everyone into a rhythm of football seasons, award shows and scrolling, as we let our lives drift away.
We were once told that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Fear itself seems fully in control now.