Fear

About one month ago I was watching my favorite television program, Sportscenter, and saw an interesting feature. The feature was on the legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Favre owns nearly every meaningful NFL record for quarterbacks, including an unthinkable iron-man streak, in which he has started every game for his teams (the Green Bay Packers and now the New York  Jets) since 1992 (254 games). The Sportscenter feature on Favre was chronicling his transition to the New York Jets after 16 years with the Packers, and highlighted something interesting that has driven Favre for his career: fear. According to Favre,  fear of failure

has driven him throughout his hall-of-fame career. 

"What drives me is fear of failure...That goes for each season and each game. As much success as I've had in my career, I've never gone into the next game or the next season and say, 'Whew. I've been playing well. That will continue.'" (Brett Favre)

I found this statement to be fascinating, as generally fear is associated with "wimps" or "sissies," and not the toughest quarterback in NFL history. However, this made me start thinking about the connection between fear and life in general. In reality, fear, whether it be fear of failure, loss, embarassment, injury, or anything else, drives every individual throughout daily life. Now, I am not saying all humans live in constant fear and hold no other motivation for life's daily chores, but I have no doubt that fear plays at least some role in everyone's daily life. 

Why do some do their homework? Fear of a bad grade or not learning the material.

Why do some people brush their teeth? Fear of bad teeth or bad breath.

Why do some people diet? Fear of health problems or poor appearance.

Why do some not speed? Fear of a ticket or accident.

I recognize that this argument does not apply to everyone in every circumstance. Some people do their homework because they enjoy it or want to learn. Some brush their teeth because they enjoy the feeling of being clean. Some diet because they enjoy nutrition and health, or do not like unhealthful foods anyway. However, if you think about your own life, how often does fear drive your actions? I believe if you are truthful in your introspection, you will be able to find many fear-driven actions within your life. 

Fear also plays a strong role in the shaping of our political system, specifically the presidential race. If you watch any presidential advertisement on television, the main message behind the advertisement is often not what that candidate can bring to the American people. Rather, the candidates, in this case McCain and Obama,  engage themselves in a high-stakes game of fear mongering. Who can do the better job of scaring the American public out of voting for the opposing candidate. Unfortunately, this fear mongering has become the main focus of both the Democratic and Republican campaigns. 

Obama Political Ad: More of the same

 As you can see by this presidential ad, Obama paints the picture that McCain is not an original maverick, rather, he is "more of the same." Obama knows that America has swooned in many ways since 2000 with Bush at the helm. Therefore, creating the public image that McCain is attached at the hip to Bush should scare many Americans into voting for Obama.

McCain Political Ad: Obama=Celebrity or Leader?

Meanwhile, John McCain portrays Obama as an inexperienced, celebrity running for President. In his estimation, Americans still reeling from the devastation of 9/11 and the Iraq war want a President with foreign policy experience, like himself, as opposed to a young, inexperienced President like Obama. He tries to make Americans fear Obama's youth and popularity with the media, making Americans fear that worse times will strike with Obama in charge.

I understand why political campaigns focus so strongly on fear mongering tactics today, especially since 9/11, as they are effective in achieving their goals. However I believe this is a cowardly tactic. I view this tactic as presidential candidates further reinforcing the presence of fear in America's daily life. However, unlike some fear, like Brett Favre's fear of failure, which I view to be good as it leads to positive results or change: this fear is unnecessary fear. Why make Americans fear the future when we have more resources and tools to succeed than any other country in the world? Instead of focusing their campaigns on the negatives of their opponents, I would love to see politicians instead focus their advertisements on their own strengths and potential to lead America to a better tomorrow.

The day of peaceful political campaigns will likely never arrive, but you can certainly count on the presence of fear in campaigns and the rest of daily life, forever.