The thing that struck me in class today was the statement that "Fear is the aesthetic du jour." This made me realize just how paranoid our society has become. We think that we are in constant danger and if we don't take action to protect ourselves we could die. When the reality is that we all are going to die at some point so why worry so much about trying to escape death.
Over the break I attended a field study to New York City with the Rollins Theatre Department. Since it was my first time in New York by myself my mom was worried about my safety in the city. The fear my mom had, made me believe that New York was a horribly dangerous city and something bad was going to happen to me while I was there. After being told to watch out for muggers, gangs, drug addicts and be mindful to wash my hands and sanitize often I was on my way. After being in New York I realized that there was nothing different about my safety in New York than there is about my safety in Orlando.
The fact is that our society is so full of fear people are too scared to live their lives normally. The media is partially to blame for this embedded fear. People are constantly being bombarded by horror stories on the news about murder, rape and theft. Advertisements tell people to buy antibacterial soap and hand sanitizers to help us stay "well" and "healthy." People are being told to upgrade their houses security with alarm systems and bolted locks.
If people continue to live their lives in fear they may miss out on so many great opportunities. If I was too worried about something bad happen to me while I was in New York City I would have missed out on a great trip. The only way we are going to change our societies fear problem is by letting people know that the more they fear about circumstances the more they will loose their sense of security and normalcy in their lives.
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