What Do We Fear?

Are most North Americans fearful of losing their jobs? Do we fear foreign terrorist organizations mostly? Are we fearful of change within our own personal lives that, in turn, limits our experiences? Whether these fears are inherent in human beings or learned behavior, they are likened to chains rattling behind the feet of most inert North Americans. Where are we to search for the true nature and cause of this fear? Shall we explore the sociological history of humans to see if patterns have formed in behavior? Is it more recent that governmental ideologies have trickled down to the masses who live, (barely for the poor), by its precepts? Basically, has fear overwhelmed that inherent emotion of passion in a battle waged where our own personal happiness is concerned? In a war involving maintaining our jobs, (or seeking one), leisure time, terrorist threats, consumption, and debt, it is no wonder most people live in Fear.
Who has wanted to travel abroad but chose otherwise due to fear of the unknown or because it will incur debt on an already tight financial budget? Due to fiscal responsibilities that fall on all adults, the vast majority of us are unable to open up to other cultural possibilities and, instead, lie motionless in an ever-perpetuating position of fear. Travel has broadened this writer's perspective on the connection between all humans. How can we refute the argument that an open mind is the first step towards progress and human reconciliation? We lay in fear because we don't know. Busting your hump all day does not allow for leisure time to brush up on current events or to explore history. Making ends meet is not a means to an end resulting in personal freedom and happiness. One cannot be naive, however, to the fact that not everybody is able to experience the wonders of the world personally, but we must spread the notion that opportunities could be created for more and more fettered by fear. We must confront student loans that inhibit many from traveling or living more financially free. We need to address overwork and stress. We have to study more closely the factors that contribute towards physical and mental fatigue which directly affects our moods and plays into the hands of fear. We have not evolved to merely plod along but to work together so that more humans can live in that state of freedom conducive to producing a happiness otherwise unknown to most.