Why You Shouldn’t Live In Fear
What happens when fear overwhelms reason? Dennis Prager offers much-needed perspective into how fear—specifically irrational fear—affects both the individual and society.
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Script:
The most famous words of Franklin Roosevelt, America’s longest-serving president, were “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
One wonders if any world leader would or even could say that today. We live in the Age of Fear.
All of my life, I thought love and hate were the two most powerful emotions.
But owing to recent events, I have changed my mind.
I now understand that for most people, fear is the strongest emotion.
In fact, I’ve come to realize that it is possible to get people to do anything if you instill enough fear in them. Specifically, irrational fear.
Fear of Covid, for example, is rational. But media and governments induced irrational fears. That’s why millions of healthy people stayed indoors for a year or more, why a vast number of people wore masks while walking or sitting alone outdoors, and why so many parents did not allow their young children to play with other children for a year or more, despite the fact that the Covid mortality rate among children is considerably less than the flu’s mortality rate among children.
All of this was caused by irrational fear. It turns out that fear is not only more powerful than love and hate, in most people it is more powerful than reason. And when it is, it is far more destructive—to the individual and to society—than rational fear.
What is rational fear? When a soldier fears going into battle, that’s rational. Soldiers cannot allow fear to control their behavior, but their fear is not irrational. If a mugger points a gun at you, it is rational to feel fear. If you are diagnosed with cancer, it is rational to experience fear.
Rational fear is not necessarily a bad thing. It is irrational fear that does the most harm—to yourself, to others, and to all of society.
The Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century were an example of irrational fear leading to evil—the killing of women who were believed to be witches.
You would think that the Enlightenment of the 18th century, with its focus on reason and science, would have led to a great lessening of irrational fear.
It hasn’t.
To take one contemporary example, many people have decided not to have children because they fear that a warming planet represents an “existential threat” to life. Now, it is rational to be concerned about climate change; it is irrational not to have children because of it. But it gets even more irrational. Their parents often support this decision, despite their deep yearning to be grandparents.
Irrational fear is also a major source of hatred. People hate what they fear. It was Germans’ irrational fear of Jews—people who made up under one percent of the German population—that led to the unique evil known as the Holocaust.
Given the awful power of fear, what can you do to be less fearful?
The first thing you must do is determine whether your fears are rational, or irrational.
And that can only be accomplished by thoroughly studying the issue—whatever it happens to be: global warming, a pandemic, racism, or any other controversial subject.
For example, blacks are told to fear white police because white police are racist and want to do them harm. This is largely an irrational fear. It is well-documented that in any given recent year, the number of unarmed blacks killed by police is approximately twenty—nearly all of whom seriously threatened the lives of the policemen who killed them.
Another example: Credible scientists who acknowledge that global warming is taking place, but contend that it is not an existential threat to life, are dismissed as “anti-science” and their views largely suppressed. Read them, and many of your fears will be allayed. (You might even decide to have children).
Most fears are stoked by governments and their allies in the mass media and in big tech, who in turn suppress contrary opinions. Therefore, please understand that when you hear only one side of the story, and that opinion is designed to make you afraid, there is a good chance that your fears are unwarranted.
For the complete transcript visit: https://www.prageru.com/video/why-you-shouldnt-live-in-fear
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Amen. Good video. I have been wanting for someone to say this for a long time. So many evils throughout history and even today have been done out of evil. So many people do not bother to try to live life because they are so afraid of the dumbest things
Mr. Prager. You cannot seriously think that porn for any reason is okay. It is not and goes directly against God's word. I can no longer support your organization. I am so disgusted and disappointed.
My biggest fear is losing my freedom.
How to Conquer Fear – A Kabbalist’s Advice
Just let the fear go. Don't think about what will happen in the next moment.
We know nothing about what is truly going on in our lives. It is thus best for us to just let go. We hold such potential within us. Letting go of our fears requires some training, but we need it.
Fear comes from our will to control situations we find ourselves in, and when we cannot control them. When we let go of fear, we then seemingly control the situations from another end. For instance, take one of the most common fears: the fear of death. Our death is inevitable. Accepting the fact that we will certainly die, we can then imagine how the world will continue developing after we are gone, agree with that picture, and let go of any current fear we have.
There are no set steps, however, for how to let go of fear. It is different for each and every person. Some people start thinking along the lines of "What will happen to the world after I’m gone?” “How will my loved ones and my relatives continue their lives?” “What will happen with my inheritance?” and “How will my legacy unfold?” Faced by these questions, we need to make another correction—of our attitude toward life and death, which is behind our every fear.
We should transform our fears into an absolute surrender to the will of nature—the will bestow that created and sustains us—which requires us to make a certain kind of effort. We might still have to go through a lot of frightening moments until we reach the end of our earthly path, so we should try to calm ourselves down.
The laws of nature that created and sustain us, and which we are ultimately being led to discover, are in a state of absolute calmness and rest. We should thus aim to emulate nature’s calmness.
We are calm when we are not worried about what will happen in the next moment. It is a difficult point to express because it is not simply about flowing with the currents of life. On the contrary, we need to rely on the laws of nature that operate on us at every moment, which control everything and everyone.
Since we live within fixed and determined laws of nature that are in total control over our lives, then we have nothing to worry about. Do we want to interfere with the laws that are driving everyone and everything through corrections? Of course we don't. We then might as well calm down and move on with our lives.
That state of calmness indicates agreement. It means that we agree with the laws of nature, which is quite difficult, because we always want to hold back, check what is happening in nature’s plans, and argue that maybe things should play out a bit differently.
Nice Turkey Neck man!!!
This whole channel is about fear!
m8 the mortality rate of covid amongst children is low but 1. it can still be harmful to them and 2. they can infect those who are at higher risk (their parents and grandparents for example). You must know this, it's common knowledge
The video is overall alright but it contains some misleading points.
– Covid restrictions on people outside the risked population were not meant to protect them from the virus but rather to minize the spread of the virus to the risked population.
– Nazis were not nearly as motivated by fear when commiting the holocaust as they were by hate.
– Climate change is truly not an existential threat to life – on earth in general, that doesn't mean that climate change is not a threat to the lives of many people in severely affected areas and to the way of life to many more.
Love isn't emotion.
In the Christian Tradition, Love is a intention.
I got the Covid vaccine, didn't want it, but was in the hospital and was told I would be put somewhere for my own protection because I was not mentally stable enough to make the best decisions".
I got the Covid vaccine, didn't want it, but was in the hospital and was told I would be put somewhere " for my own protection because I was not mentally stable enough to make the best decisions".
this was great but I don't believe in rational fear. nor does any good leader. no fear period
I am concerned that this video started with quoting one of the worst presidents in US history. Glad it didn't end with a Woodrow Wilson quote.
There has been no global warming for 20 years. In order to get climate change research funding, scientists must endorse the climate change hypothesis. THAT IS FRAUD!!!! Globalists use climate change to scare people into endorsing a one global totalitarian government the same way they are using COVID-19. CLIMATE CHANGE IS A BOGEYMAN AND AN IRRATIONAL FEAR. Just watch, we're going to see lockdowns and draconian measures for climate change as we have seen for COVID-19. Just another globalist stunt to control the world population. I'll tell you, I don't lay awake at night worrying about climate change. What terrifies me are the number of brainwashed idiots on this planet that do. Science is for sale to the highest bidder, and we see that with COVID-19 and climate change. The real fear is central banks, global mega-corporations and the track and trace social credit digital monetary system of enslavement they have planned for us. This new fiat digital monetary system is based on CARBON. That should tell you something about the veracity of climate change if carbon is tied to this counterfeit fiat digital currency. It is tragically sad that people are enslaved by their own stupidity. There are only two kinds of people that create evil in this world…..people who lie and people who believe the lies…….charlatans and fools!
“You can lose to opponent you CANNOT lose to fear.” – Mr. Miyagi
thanks , we all need that voice of reason
how does an unarmed African American pose a threat to a police officers life, warranting the police officer to kill said African American?
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD JESUS CHRIST, WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE IN HEAVEN FOREVER AND EVER. John 3:16 Bible….THE RAINBOW🌈THRONE OF SON OF GOD JESUS CHRIST AND THE TREE OF LIFE, Revelation 4 and Revelation 22 Bible. And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.🔥This is the second death. Revelations 20 bible…. ❤️I SAW A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”❤️
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone,🔥which is the second death.
Life is too short to live in fear.
Things I learned in this video:
1. If the danger is not immediate, the fear is irrational
2. The only thing we need to fear is people inciting fear
3. Citations are for fear mongering regressives
4. People wearing masks in public is equivalent and similar to the holocaust
D PRAGER…ONE OF THE GREAT…..