Fear

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once famously stated that we have nothing to fear, but fear itself. In the era we find ourselves living in, it can often be pondered if that is indeed the truth of the matter. Then however, we must realize the hubris of such a statement.

We are not unique in the fact we have a bogeyman hiding in our generational closet. Every generation has its fears, be it the threat of mutually assured destruction via nuclear means, fascist dictatorships and every other threat that has been given under the sun. Now we have "terrorism" as the bogeyman, and Muslims have been singled out by many among the American public as the threat.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan's religion, for those who are interested, was not listed on his military forms. Yes, it was widely known that he was a Muslim, but it was not listed officially...why? Criticism, fear of retaliation, etc. This is with good reason as well; following 9/11/01 a large upswing was recorded in crimes against Muslims and Sikhs (for those who were too ignorant to take their rage out on who they thought they were).

Even as recent as 2006 radio show host named Jerry Klein made up a story about six Imams asked to debark a plane. For over an hour he allowed people to think the story was nothing but the truth, and he received phone calls encouraging brands, tattoos and concentration camps for Muslim Americans. In the end of his segment he revealed his hoax and lambasted those who had called in, noting it was such thinking that allowed people in Germany to so easily let the Holocaust occur.

We have nothing to fear, but fear itself. At least not in a secular sense, because it is our fear that allows for us to make anything acceptable. Be it a scapegoat for all the world's ills or the elimination of a people.