Reply #51: Roosevelt himself faced personal fears when he became disabled. [View All]

He was in a unique position to lead a nation out of fear and continue on in the midst of a calamity.

He knew the damaging nature of fear first hand, and had enough moral discipline to keep from using it to his advantage. One doubts that he even could have in that day and age.

I daresay many in that era would have excoriated our current government for "cowardice" and "pantywaist-ism" for all the chicken-little fear they spread. It really is one form of their own terrorism.

I think many mothers of the era would have kicked some folks around for needlessly giving their children nightmares. ( I'm put in mind of Norman Rockwell's painting "Freedom From Fear" where parents are tucking in the kiddies for the night.)

On its face it seems reasonable that one would question individuals who encourage fear and then tell you that they will protect you from that fear. That's a protection racket, ain't it?

Edit: I agree that we have some very unhealthy folks in government. What I find most interesting is the level of co-dependence between them and the relatively small band of "true believers' who will never leave BushCo's side no matter what evidence is presented to prove such trust to be baseless (or faith-based), and many times--such as economically--self-damaging.