"Americans are still afraid. It's been a dozen years since sociologist Barry Glassner wrote about "The Culture of Fear" and argued that our national anxieties were mostly misplaced. Glassner revised his book in 2010 and added a longer subtitle: "Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things: Crime, Drugs, Minorities, Teen Moms, Killer Kids, Mutant Microbes, Plane Crashes, Road Rage & So Much More" Glassner has earned a reputation as a rational critic of dire news -- whether it arises in media, political or popular circles. He says three out of four Americans report that they're more afraid now than they were 20 years ago, and he's kept track of how those fears have ebbed and flowed. In a telephone interview, he talked about sorting genuine fears from exaggerated ones and looking critically at the facts.
What has changed about Americans' fears in the past decade?
We're at least as afraid now as we were then. Americans live in the safest period in human history, in the safest place in human history. Unfortunately, there are so many fears that preoccupy us, many that are unfounded. Basically, you can't turn on local TV news or listen to politicians campaigning without being told that the world around you is frightening, that American society is losing its place in the world. Even when crime rates are much lower and, in many ways, American society is as strong or stronger than it has ever been. The good news is that after Sept. 11, 2001, many of the kinds of patterns that I wrote about stopped. At that point, we had a really serious danger. We had one of the most truly frightening events in the nation's history, our focus shifted in that direction. But by the summer of 2002, the airwaves of cable news networks were obsessing again about missing children, which is about the last thing any person or parent needs to worry about.
In recent months, many people's fears are tied to economic issues. They're afraid of losing a job, of never finding one, of losing their homes. Are those real fears?
The economic uncertainty internationally is very real, and we have plenty to be concerned about. But we need to focus on the real dangers and legitimate concerns. There's a lot of talk in the presidential campaign that we're close to no longer being a free economy or that capitalism will disappear. Neither of those is very likely, and debating that kind of scenario is not really very helpful.
Why are so many people afraid of such extreme possibilities?
We need to be careful to distinguish how people respond to fear mongering and who is spreading the fears. If we ask why so many of us are losing sleep over dangers that are very small or unlikely, it's almost always because someone or some group is profiting or trying to profit by either selling us a product, scaring us into voting for them or against their opponent or enticing us to watch their TV program. But to understand why we have so many fears, we need to focus on who is promoting the fears.
What's your advice for someone faced with "fear-filled" news?
If I can point to one thing, it's this: Ask yourself if an isolated incident is being treated as a trend. Ask if something that has happened once or twice is "out of control" or "an epidemic." Just asking yourself that question can be very calming. The second (suggestion) is, think about the person who is trying to convey the scary message. How are they trying to benefit, what do they want you to buy, who do they want you to vote for? That (question) can help a lot.
In terms of economic fears, even statistics are frightening -- unemployment figures, for example. Some sources find them encouraging, others discouraging. Who's right?
What you can do in that case is try to find a source that doesn't have a stake one way or another. So, for example, in scares about diseases and medical situations that are posted all over the Internet, go to a scientific source -- the Centers for Disease Control is a good one.
You're speaking at a church. Do you think religion has a role to play in helping people handle fears?
Last week I spoke to a political group. Any community where people are trying to proceed in a more constructive and rational way can be useful. It's really in schools, from kindergarten through graduate schools, where people have the best opportunity to understand how to sort out realistic claims from exaggerated ones and learn how to think critically".
by Nancy Haught
