A few weeks ago, I was reading an advert on the bus which told me that if I didn’t believe in God, my soul would be damned for eternity. A nice old lady next to me saw me reading the ad and had to give me a personal reminder:
Young man, you really should embrace God and all that he stands for. If not, you’ll burn in hell and God will spite you both in life and in the afterlife.
Then she smiled. A cute, non-threatening smile.
Why be scary?
This isn’t a post about believing in God or about the politicization of religion.
This is a post about threats and living in fear.
I can not, for the life of me, understand why people choose to use fear as a motivating factor for anything at all.
Some people use the fear of hell to instill religious compliance. Some people use the fear of terror to foster xenophobia and hatred. Some people use the fear of failure to legitimize apathy and laziness.
Fear should not be used as a motivating factor.
Want me to believe in God? Tell me about the beautiful things She does.
Want me to endorse your war? Tell me about your drive to bring positive change to a nation.
Want me to understand your impassivity? Tell me about the wonderful stories you dream of when sitting on your couch.
I may not agree with you, but I will listen. Scare me, and I’ll just tune out.
I’m hoping that the man that takes his place in the White House in three days is successful in his campaign to eliminate the rhetoric of fear and replace it with a rhetoric of love and hope. If he manages to do that and only that in the next four years, I’ll count his presidency as a resounding success.
Not only that, but people often use fear as a reason NOT to do things - i.e. fear of failure, fear of rejection, etc…
I guess people use fear as a motivation tactic because it works, fast. I would love to see more positive motivation like you suggest. We can all start with what we do in our own lives, right?
Amrita, I’ve been working really hard to find positive motivators in life, which is part of the reason I wrote this post. Fear just seems like a silly reason to do anything in the end. Thanks to you and all my friends for being great positive influences in my life!
Great thought Vasta!
Fear has been used as a great motivator over many years to get goups of people to act or support something. The fear of another “9/11” was used to “sell” war.
Amrita is also correct in that fer also freezes people from doing anything.
The ads above (which i hear are coming to T.O.) should not be feared just like the verses from the Bible (on the TTC) don’t scare anyone.
Anyways, just my 2 cents worth on a Saturday morning!
u buddies with Tim Sanders???
http://sanderssays.typepad.com/sanders_says/2009/01/tim-ferriss-on-fearmongering.html
Karim, no I don’t know Tim Sanders, but it looks like a lot of people have fear on their minds these days. Also, I’m really interested to see what the reaction to the ads will be in Toronto. Keep me posted just in case I’m out of town when they arrive!
Great post! It’s nice to see someone on the same page!
I think the thing with fear is that it appeals more to the masses immediately as pointed out. It’s easier to get people to do things if they know that their life is somehow on the line. Mind, you also fall into the trap of people becoming immune to “orange alerts”. I agree in that using other motivational tactics is probably a good idea, but I suppose whoever is using them runs the risk of having their audience use their own heads rather than instinct (sometimes it’s a risk they’re not wiling to take)
Fate has a way of taking care of us, whatever that may mean for each individual.
So the big question, Mehnaz, is how to make fear less appealing to the masses. Any ideas?