During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt told the
American people that they had nothing to fear except fear itself.Today things are different. A new culture of fear runs rampant in
western democracies, and politicians who should be telling people to not be
afraid are using fear to manipulate and control the populace.
Something is wrong with this picture, and I'll explain why.
I have a healthy respect for sharks when they are in feeding frenzy, and
if someone is spear fishing, I get out of the water, but I'm not afraid.
I'm simply using my God-given common sense. I
know it's not difficult to stay out of harms way when I make a
visit to Shark Land. Certain types of behavior on my part may create
aggressive behavior on a shark's part. Nevertheless, I shouldn't blame
sharks for their aggressive behavior, and instead, I should stop doing
things that make them become aggressive. It would be stupid for me to
do things that create aggression, and then expect sharks to
remain docile and disinterested. The reason I'm not afraid of sharks
is because I don't do things that place me at risk for attacks by sharks.
I lived outside the USA for a quarter of a century, and
sixteen of those years were in the Middle East. During all those
years I wasn't afraid. There was no reason to be afraid because I
didn't engage in behavior that placed me at risk. Innumerable times
fearful people have told me how dangerous it was to live in the Middle East,
how perilous it was to sail through the Malacca Straits, and how sharks
wanted to take me out to dinner, and they are right. Half-truths and
quarter-truths are the currency of fearful minds. The Middle East is
dangerous in specific small restricted areas, and the same is true in Miami
and New York. I wouldn't go into a Seven-Eleven convenience store
after ten o'clock at night anywhere in the USA. I know of people who
died in a convenience store at night. The last time I checked, 35,000
people were killed with guns in America in a single year. Homegrown
violence in America is appalling. Do you remember
Columbine? So what is more
dangerous, living in the Middle East or in Middle America? The answer
is that both are dangerous if you engage in behaviors putting you at risk.
Even with the handgun carnage that happens every day in America, I'm not
afraid to live in America because I know how to stay out of harms way.
I sailed up the Red Sea for two months and had an enjoyable trip, and I
would like to do it again. The Red Sea has wonderful diving, and good
people live in all the countries around its shores.Everywhere
I go in the world, 98 percent of the people are good honest citizens, and
there is nothing to fear from them. I have traveled extensively in
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Oman, the Emirates, and Israel,
and I have always been treated with respect. Without exception, the
only time I have been treated rudely was in large cities by citified folks
who were in a hurry, and who are rude to everyone, not just me.
Every place I visit on planet earth is extremely
dangerous when I do things that put me in harms way. At the same time,
every place is extremely safe, and there is nothing to fear when I turn on
my brain and use it. That's why God gave me a brain and programmed it
with common sense. When I turn on my brain, I can go almost anywhere I
want without fear springing up in my heart.
I'm not immune to fear, and I'm not a brave person, but at the same time, I
don't let fear rule my life. I sailed around the world for eleven
years on my yacht and traveled where many people fear to go. I
discovered that Franklin Roosevelt was right. The only thing we have to
fear is fear itself.
In spite of sharks and their rows of fearful teeth, life still is good.
