Cultivating fear

On January 4, 2016, the Southeast Missourian reprinted a column by William A. Galston previously published in the Wall Street Journal. In the column, Galston asks the question, "Are We a Nation Driven by Fear or Courage." Galston gives examples of fear causing the acceptance of bad decisions in democracies, and he writes, "our society and our politics is increasingly decoupled from facts. We prefer to take our bearings from our sentiments -- often the least honorable ones."

As the elections get nearer some politicians will cultivate fears in order to proclaim themselves as the nation's best hope for protecting us from whatever boogey man is available. If we support the fear mongers who solicit our votes, Galston says we are allowing these politicians to "pander to what is worst in us in the service of their destructive agendas."

At the time of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural, this nation was truly at risk of continuing to exist. Rather than stoking the flames of hate and fear, Lincoln called on us by saying, "The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Let us prove that we are still the "home of the brave" by rejecting those who would cultivate fear. There will always be true dangers to be addressed, and we can only hope that there will always be some willing to assume the risks when protecting the nation from real enemies. At the same time we must ignore those who would create and cultivate fear as a tool for assuming political power. Compare those who are asking to be elected today to Abraham Lincoln. Do today's candidates appeal to the "better angels of our nature" or to something less honorable?

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.