Fear

Fear - Steve Gigl pointed me to this piece from "A Small Victory". On one level, it talks about the election, and her own personal journey from voting for Nader to supporting Bush.

She gets some criticism, it seems, from those who think basing her vote on the Terrorism issue is irrational:

"This is not irrational. It's real. Was this a fake event acted out on a sound stage? No, it was real. How can you say that the fear that comes with something like that is not real? Contrary to what you may believe, Bush did not instill that fear in me. A bunch of radical religious nuts on a jihad did that. Are you so naive to think that they don't want to do it again?

All very true - and it touches on a larger point that was made in a smaller way, over the past decade here in Minnesota.

During our concealed carry debate, one of common attacks on supporters of the reforms went like this, delivered in full self-righteous indignant fury:

I choose not to be afraid! I choose not to live in fear!

The irrationality of this statement drove me crazy: So Do I!

I supported shall-issue specifically because fear doesn't mix with life well. I want the people - the rational, law-abiding people - of our society to have less to fear.

Ditto voting for Bush. Confronting ones fears is not the same as caving in to them.

Michelle continues:

How is that I'm selfish if I vote with my own family in mind, but you aren't selfish if you vote with your own agenda in mind? When you go to the polls, you aren't going to be thinking of me or what I want. Maybe the economy or gay rights is number one on your agenda but, as much as those things are important to me, they are not number one on mine. How dare you have the nerve for calling me selfish when I decide to cast my vote according to what I feel should be the priorities of this nation.

Isn't that the way of the left? They do it at a national level (Iraq is "fearmongering" while Haiti and Liberia are worth intervention) and the personal level (defending against robbers and bangers and rapists is "fearmongering", while Rush Limbaugh or personal faith or homeschooling are "Scary").

RTWT, of course.

Posted by Mitch at March 11, 2004 05:00 AM