The Power Of Fear In Al Gore's Assault On Reason

Another theme, personal identity, is seen throughout all of the characters in the book. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of

Fear stalks humanity wherever it goes. It feeds on our panic and uncertainty. This is seen throughout 1692, the 1950s, and the present, when a leader with great power creates a solution to a problem that people did not even know they had to fear people begin to fear as well as the cycle of innocent people falsely confessing adding to the fear.

Throughout history, the fear of the unknown has been a driving force behind many fearful leaders. As said

the characters. The story reminds his audience that a man is more than a father. He is

This policy clearly reflects the enormous fear

Politicians have used fear during a time full of a sense of disorder in order to gain popularity. The reaction to fear is universal and everyone is susceptible to it, forcing them to seek refuge/comfort. Political candidates then take advantage and paint themselves as a form of refuge. This makes fear a favorable strategy for politicians to gain popularity votes. Fear has the power to persuade voters more than any other strategies as seen in modern day politics and in 1964.

their judgment became clouded. In the first chapter of The Assault On Reason by Al Gore, Gore

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” What is fear? Fear can be a noun or a verb. In the noun form, it is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. In the verb form, it is to be afraid of someone or something that is dangerous, painful, or threatening. If one person looks into fear, then that person becomes feared. But imagine a whole society or community looking into fear. The fear not only gets larger as it spreads, but it also gets more fearful than it already is. The power of fear can be displayed in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and in Ronald Oakley’s “The Great Fear”. As fear moves on from one mind to the next, it leaves the

Fear often dictates how people’s mindsets are set up and how they behave during day to day trials and tribulations. Fear is something that can be beautiful and accepting when the fearful allows it to not overcome them but also dangerous and ugly when a concoction of fear and lies is made. We can see this during the 1950’s when The Red Scare took place and in the past with The Salem Witch Trials, both of which black listed people and ruined reputations while also, sadly, taking lives. The two subjects have many similarities, as they allowed history to repeat itself but also many differences, nevertheless they are often put in the same boat, and the question is… Why?

While fear itself is a healthy emotion, irrational fears cause people to take irrational actions. In The Science of Fear by Daniel Gardner, the aspects of human's response to fear are explained in four different groups. When people experience fear, naturally they come together with the people who share similar beliefs (Gardner 15). Gardner describes this gravitation as “group polarization” and with this comes confirmation bias. When the groups of people come together with the bias they hold to be true if confirmed and strengthened by those who share them (Gardner 15). The actions of these groups are based on the two systems of thinking. System one thinking is fast, involving feelings and emotions. Whereas system two thinking is based on reason and logic within one's actions (Gardner 15). However, the actions caused by fear are sometimes out of the thought of fear rather than the reality of it. The reality is that “ the only thing we have to fear … if fear itself-

It shows how the book is informative on how people treat slaves and whites as not equal, and also sees the daily/ extreme lengths people will go to seek

Fear is often characterized as an irrational sense of negativity toward the unknown or the unlikeable. In the eyes of many Americans, the majority of whom proclaim their Christian beliefs, this sensation is considered unavoidable. Marilynne Robinson argues in her article “Fear”, published by The New York Review of Books in 2015, that “...first, contemporary America is full of fear. And second, fear is not a Christian habit of mind” (Robinson 1). In other words, it is ‘unchristian’ to fear. In both the beginning and conclusion, she clearly expresses credibility through her extensive credentials and strong emotional arguments; however, this is overshadowed by the wordiness, sarcasm, and lack of

Fear is essentially the main cause for all the foreboding issues in this world. It is a natural human emotion that certainly everyone and any living thing has encountered. However, when fear becomes irrational, the outcomes can be devastating. Ranging from outright foolishness, all the way down to mass hysteria, fear is a true emotion that can manipulate someone and the people around them to their demise. Irrational fear has been seen in the Crucible, as well as in the McCarthy era, and modern times.

the theme is to question what the author was trying to relate to the reader.

All of these factors work cohesively with one another by instilling a sense of fear into the lives of everyday citizens. Society is becoming more and more policed through the use of surveillance cameras on public walkways, gated communities, but especially, through systematic approaches used to create the feeling that public spheres are unsafe and something to be feared.