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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 'Guitar Player' book recalls the heady days of the '70s and '80s Ashland budget proposal says solar power could attract investment Ashland High School water polo club seeks yard sale donations Final Ashland Middle School band concert of the school year set for May 20 Nashville singer/songwriter with Ashland ties dies of cancer Education Ashland Middle School students put their Spanish-speaking skills to the test Grizzlies claim speech championship Levy backers eye final push Neal Simon: This is a test Grade-school philanthropist Environment Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Stopping fire in its tracks Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Business Ride & Drive: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe Ashland Safeway closes Thursday, to reopen as Haggen on Sunday Cars We Remember: Car enthusiast wishes new model designs were ‘more different’ Ride & Drive: 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Silvio Calabi: Taxis and traffic in the olde worlde Politics and elections Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. 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Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask ... Ashland Calendar, Saturday, May 9 ... Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask ... James Jackson: Who's driving your fear? By James Jackson More Content Now DailyTidings.com By James Jackson More Content Now Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 7:37 am Updated May 8, 2015 at 10:53 AM By James Jackson More Content Now Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 7:37 am Updated May 8, 2015 at 10:53 AM » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt This sentence spoken by President Roosevelt at his first inaugural address on March 4, 1933, was in direct response to the fear gripping the nation during the Great Depression. The message, however, transcends time and is as relevant today as it was nearly 100 years ago. Fear is a beast, and when fed, becomes a driving force all its own. So who is driving your fear? Of course, we all have our little irrational fears. I have two. One is of clowns. I don’t care what kind of clown it is and how happy it looks. You won’t get me within 5 feet of one and, if you do, it won’t be a very comfortable situation. The other is of anything swimming in the water with teeth, specifically sharks. My philosophy is my evolutionary ancestors crawled out of the oceans millions of years ago and I have no desire to crawl back into it. Sharks, barracudas, and gar are not waltzing into my home on land, so I’m not walking into theirs. It’s a mutual respect for space that we have going on and I’m happy with it. These little fears aside, there are other bigger fears that we truly need to worry about. For many decades, nuclear annihilation was a legitimate fear, and still is to a degree. Our rapidly changing climate is another. These certainly aren’t the only legitimate fears, and they are extreme examples on a large scale. The question we have to ask ourselves is why we are afraid when reason says there is no imminent threat to us. The bigger question is who is making us afraid and what they conceivably gain from it. The two biggest beneficiaries to fear are politics and profit. Forgive me while I over-generalize to a degree, here, because not all politicians and businesses use these tactics. But there are enough examples for us to say they aren’t isolated practices. Election year politics loves fear. “Be careful … ISIS is comin’ to get ya! If you vote for that other guy or that other party, those terrorists will flock across that Mexico border and blow up your church and tear up your American flag!” Let’s set aside the fact that there is no real evidence this is happening (and I seriously doubt anyone is interested in trying to navigate through the drug cartel battlegrounds of northern Mexico). Also foreign terrorists have traditionally shown an interest in symbolic targets in large American cities. And yet, small town America buying into that fear will watch the woods outside its back door for gangs of roving Middle Easterners because a politician, party, or media outlet has the irrational fear whipped up for their own personal benefit. Most American acts of terrorism have been carried out by white, homegrown, Christian right Americans (at least within the last 50 years) but that reality doesn’t buy votes or sell fear. No, it’s the foreigners, and by God, we’re gonna protect you from them (for a price or a vote). Oh, and let’s not forget those hordes of criminals out there. Never mind that crime rates are at historic lows and have been for years. If you listen to the politicians, we’re sinking into a pit of crime ridden immoral behavior not seen since Al Capone and his buddies were shooting up the country during Prohibition. Not true, but they’ll play into that fear. And if you vote for them, they’ll fix this straw man problem. The media plays into this as well. After all, nothing sells like a juicy crime story or what could happen to you. Tune in tonight at 6 or buy our next edition! Let’s not lay this all in the lap of the dirty world of politics, though. After all, playing into fear is a hallmark of the political world from time immemorial and will be long after our generations are gone. Fear is profitable. Just in the past few months I can rattle off a few good ads I’ve seen or read that attempt to drive right to the heart of your fears. Of course, they will sell you comfort from that fear. I saw a commercial for a cable company wanting to sell you its landline service. We all know the days of landlines are on their last legs. More and more people have replaced their landlines with cell phones. Rural areas have a very legitimate concern when it comes to cell signals, but as telecom companies steadily increase their signal coverage, those concerns are diminishing. So why should you buy a landline? Because there might be an emergency and you might die. At least that’s what the company is trying to scare you into believing. If you don’t have that landline, and your cell signal is spotty, then you could die. But guess what? If you buy their product, you’ll be just fine. Alarm companies will make you think people are just waiting in the bushes to break into your house. Buy their product and you’re safe! Are you elderly? You might fall down so buy this product and you won’t have to be afraid to fall anymore! Oh, and you might be able to get it free because they can manipulate Medicaid/Medicare and have the government pay them for you. Don’t like the president? Guess what? He’s coming for your guns. You better buy as many guns as you can right now so you can be a one-man army fighting off tyranny! Oh, wait, what? They didn’t come for your guns … well they will. You should buy this brand new model we have so you can be your own (insert random 1980’s action hero). Not using our medical service or our ambulances? Better be careful. If you use those other guys, you might die. You must take action now to ensure it’s us that receives your money. Don’t wait … your life hangs in the balance. I’m not saying we can overcome fear. Every living creature fears. We’ll never rise above real fear. But we have to learn how to fear the things that are truly a danger. Not the random events that we can do nothing about (regardless of how many persons/business say you can pay them to stop it). Not manufactured fears that only exist for the benefit of organizations. And certainly not fears that consume our lives to the detriment of our mental well being and the happiness of our short time on this planet. Except with clowns. Everyone should be afraid of them. Everyone. Contact James Jackson at [email protected]. By James Jackson More Content Now DailyTidings.com By James Jackson More Content Now Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 7:37 am Updated May 8, 2015 at 10:53 AM » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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