Parker Palmer, a Quaker educator, says ‘Fear is the air we breathe. We subscribe to religions that exploit our dread of death. We do business in an economy of fear driven by consumer worries about keeping up with the neighbours And we practice a politics of fear in which candidates are elected by playing on voter’s anxieties about race and class.’ And we continue to ‘collaborate with these structures because they promise to protect us against one of the deepest fears at the heart of being human – the fear of having a live encounter with alien ”otherness”.’

Palmer says our fear of ‘having a live encounter with alien “otherness”’ is based on:

1. a fear of difference –
of someone or something “other” than ourselves challenging us.

2. a fear of conflict –
a conflict that will surely ensue when the “other” challenges us.

3. a fear of loss –
we fear the loss of something of ourselves in a win-lose conflict.

4. a fear of change –
even if we accept the promise of unity in diversity, the prospect of
conflict being instructive, and the possibility of “win-win” solutions
and even “winning” through “losing”, we are still scared of the pain
in the challenge to change our lives.

At this point the anguished existentialist Albert Camus says ‘We are seized by a vague fear, an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits.’

Some fear is healthy. It may be a sign of openness, responsiveness, vulnerability, a willingness to take risks, and the possibility of scary, but significant change. But much fear is unhealthy. It alienates us from others and ourselves.

David Benner, a professor of Spirituality and Psychology, says ‘Fear works in such a way that the object of the fear is almost irrelevant. Fearful people are more alike than the differences between the foci of their fear might suggest.’

‘When we live in fear of everything that may bring us harm, we effectively insulate ourselves from life itself – because sorrow, illness, injury and death are unavoidable ingredients in life.’

‘Fearful people live within restrictive boundaries. They tend to be quite cautious and conservative. They also tend to be highly vigilant, ever guarding against moving out of the bounds within which they feel most comfortable.’

‘People who live in fear feel compelled to remain in control. They attempt to control themselves and they attempt to control their world. Often, despite their best intent-ions, this spills over into efforts to control others.’

‘The fearful person may appear deeply loving, but fear always interferes with the impulse to love. Fear blocks responsiveness to others. Energy invested in main-taining safety and comfort always depletes energy available for others.’

‘When fear arises, we harden our bodies and our hearts, closing inward to protect ourselves. Sometimes we feel paralysed, unable to move; at other times we race around faster, trying to make ourselves into a moving target, something harder to hit. We build walls, call up armies, and pay governments to protect us from danger as we try to minimise the risks of being human.’