There are a lot of scary things lurking out there. Like everything. That's what you would fear if you had the thorough condition panphobia, the fear of everything. By contrast, there is the fear of nothing, what existential phenomenology terms 'dread.'
When Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," he was referring to the self-fulfilling condition phobophobia, the fear of phobias (themselves).
Some may find this one hard to stomach-phagophobia-the fear of eating or swallowing, which may or may not be related to another, the self-explanatory spermophobia.
There is also coitophobia (fear of sex), gephyrophobia (fear of crossing a bridge), teratophobia (fear of monsters), triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13), and my personal favourite-pogonophobia-the fear of beards.
Why is everyone so freaked? One answer is that fear keeps us on our toes, poised for anything. Better to be slightly paranoid than open to ambush. As Edmund Burke said, "Early and provident fear is the mother of safety."
Another reason is that fright is a great political pony, and President George W. Bush wants to ride it to victory. Last week's State of the Union speech was a phobic delight.
"We have faced serious challenges together, and now we face a choice," Bush said. "We can go forward with confidence and resolve or we can turn back to the dangerous illusion that terrorists are not plotting and outlaw regimes are no threat to us.
"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people," he added.
Fear is a great motivator and manipulator, and it is on Bush's side. It is his most effective instrument for re-election.
National security is the backbone of Bush's campaign. The New York Times reported last week that 68 per cent of voters, including majorities of both Democrats and independents, said the Bush administration's policies have made the United States safer from terrorist attacks. Sixty-four per cent said they considered him a strong leader.
A study by two European scientists published in the latest issue of Nature finds that the human brain relies largely on memory when facing an immediate physical challenge.
"The more uncertainty that people face... the more they make decisions based on their subconscious memory and the less they depend on what they see." I think scared voters operate in much the same way.
Bush's campaign seems to put forth an ultimatum-re-elect him or venture into uncharted (read: dangerous) waters. A vote for the Democrats is a gamble with your safety, Bush suggests.
