Dear Glenn,
You had a lot that you wanted to say to me in a very short response. And you did. I appreciate your reading my open letter. And I appreciate the response. Here are a few of my responses to your response.
Quote #1. "November, 08, 2008 6:51 AM glnflwrs writes: Freedom from a fear that you say is human nature is not only impossible but it is psychopathic to believe it is caused by those reasons you give."
My Answer: I think you may have misunderstood what my thought was in suggesting we move beyond fear. I am not proposing that we ignore our fears. Nor am I suggesting that we create a state of utopia. Throughout history most utopias have been much closer to dystopias. I am in favor of making practical, prudent choices in the world. What I am suggesting when I say we should strive for freedom from fear is that we human beings unleash our creativity and ultimately are more productive when we find safe ways to move beyond our fears.
Quote #2: "I don't believe you believe what you have written here. I think you are peddling feel good communism under the guise of being a peace loving moderate."
My Answer: First of all I am peddling feeling good. But I resent being accused of peddling commuinism. My father was a Lieutenant in the US Army trying to defeat the Soviet Union during the Cold War. I share his disdain for what happened in the Soviet Union under Stalin. I was born when Ronal Reagan was President. And I remember in my childhood liking Ronald Reagan. And I believe the world was better off when the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union crumbled.
Quote #3: "Fear is one of man's most inherent aspects and, at a low level, contributes to EVERY decision made. To propose that type of change in the human psyche is what I grew up being warned about. It is all so much, uhmmmm, B.S."
My Answer: Fear is indeed one of the most fundamental human emotions. But it is not the only emotion. Our decisions can't help but be guided by our fears. But identifying our fears is half-way towards overcoming them. I don't pretend that we can overcome our fears by wishing them away. Nor do I propose that we immediately institute a BIG GOVERNMENT solution to all of our problems. Problems are real. Right now in America we need to trust our system of government. But we also need to trust Obama's message that power comes from the ground up. This is not radical in America. The 10th Amendment states that all powers not given literally to the federal government are reserved for the people and the states.
Quote #4: "Nice to contemplate, though. If that's what you want to do, contemplate. But to live and feel life, you need a healthy, inherent fear of anything that is new or original. Otherwise, Ben Franklin would have been toast via a kite string.
Until we meet again, Comrade.
Glenn Flowers "
My Answer: Thank you for ending your essay on a positive note. I think you articulated some of your concerns with my open letter quite astutely. And I understand that you have rational fear of what I mean when I say we should declare freedom from fear. But I will say that citizen participation has been very low amongst my generation of peers. I'm approximately 25. And Obama's presidency has reengaged people's sense of participation. And conservatives will be surprised to find that they have more allies in the cause of preserving individual liberties than they thought they did. We do need to keep a healthy sense of fear in our day-to-day lives. But all too often we don't rigorously explain to ourselves what we mean when we say our fears are healthy.