Fear By Cindy Furnare
Rightgrrl Contributor
April 20, 2001
FEAR. Heart thumping, adrenalin rushing, sweat drenching, gut wrenching....FEAR!
Have you ever been afraid?
Yep, me too.
The power of FEAR grips us with its tensile strength. FEAR can be a strangling stronghold. FEAR can be used for evil purposes or to spark heroic efforts. Our goal today is to channel crippling FEAR and doubt into a powerful source of strength. This will be demanding, but we are now going to face FEAR head on. We are going to face FEAR together.
Plato profoundly stated, "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." Chilling statement. True today. We are a nation of politically correct, dumbed-down, spineless, cowering cowards wallowing in a cess pool of apathy and self-centered lifestyles. It doesn't have to be like this. We can change.
As I open up my daily e-mail folder, I look at letters and messages that run the gamut. Informative news, interesting notes, encouraging messages, silly jokes, beautiful cards, inspirational stories, heart-warming tales, action alerts, disturbing missives, hateful ramblings, and spam. I often read my morning e-mail before breakfast. My e-mail bag can pry open my eyes quicker than a cup of espresso coffee.
In the past couple of years, my e-mail has been peppered with a common pattern that really should be viewed as a wake-up call for all Americans. Good people are writing me letters encouraging me to keep on doing what I'm doing. They thank me for my activism. They congratulate me for my efforts. They pray for me. This is so nice. The problem is though, it's not about me; it's about all of us working together for the betterment of our life, our family, our community, our country, and our world. So many of the people who write to me also let me know how very afraid they are of getting involved, speaking up, FEARful of writing letters to their local newspapers, trembling at the thought of calling a talk show, absolutely terrified of picketing for a cause....and so it goes. The FEAR is so thick; I feel that I can almost reach out and touch it through the screen on my computer terminal. I am not belittling the fear that these people are sharing with me. Why should I? Sometimes I am just as afraid as they are. It's hard, but not impossible, to break out of "the deer caught in the headlights" syndrome. FEAR has a way of gripping one so bad that you don't know if you should stand still, run, or fight.
So many people apologize for their non-involvement in important issues, causes, concerns, and events. The reasons often cited are that they are afraid someone will hurt them, someone will find out what their beliefs are and they will be fired from their jobs, someone may say something they feel unable to respond to, someone may send them nasty e-mails, etc.
Well, please don't apologize. The fact is that I am afraid sometimes, too. I have learned to harness my FEAR and use that FEAR producing energy in a beneficial manner. With a loving heart, I exhort you to get involved with your family, your community, your state, our nation, and the world. Don't be daunted by this task. Memorize Everett Hale's words of wisdom: "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do!"
"For God hath not given us a the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." -II Timothy 1:7
Don't stop reading. Don't say this message is not for you. Come on, let's continue on together. Let me tell you how I became involved in political, Christian, and pro-life concerns.
God's love empowers me, but the Clinton-Gore admininistration & associates inspired my activism. As with many families, our life centered around our family, work, school, church, and our community. Nothing noteworthy about our family. As for politics, we voted in every election. In 1992, the Clinton-Gore team became our "leaders" for 8 long years. Our family learned more about politics than we ever wanted to know. What a wake-up call!
What could we do? Obviously, going to the polls and voting just wasn't enough. We listened to talk radio. and talk TV programs. We found out that we weren't alone --- manyAmericans felt just like us. Oh, well, maybe things would get better in Washington, D.C. Nope, it didn't.
My husband connected us to that new-fangled technological toy, the Internet. I wasn't interested. One day I was cleaning house when my husband said that instead of yelling at the TV; I could actually make those same statements in the chat room and not only would the other "chatters" read my statements, but the hosts of the talk shows would sometimes read the statements on the air. Oh!
Well, my husband said, "Do you want an e-mail account?" I said, "Why would I want an e-mail account?" He said, "You can send e-mail to anyone anywhere in the world." Oh, wow!!
A nice gentleman in one of the chat rooms, thought I should have my own web page. I e-mailed a message to him that I didn't really need a web page because I was "nobody" really and "nobody" would be interested in my web page. He begged to differ, so he made me a web page. The hits just kept on hitting and the internal counter ticking. Somebody was interested. Neato! Double wow!! In the back of my mind, however, a little worm of doubt and fear was trickling through my brain. If people were really paying attention to what I had to say, what would "the opposition" do about it? Hmmmmm...... Almost a year went by and my husband said, "I can build a web page for you." "Can you be my web master," I asked? "Yes, but you can learn HTML, too." Right. I'm so techno-illiterate that the series of how-to internet books for "dummies" is probably just too advanced for me. The thought of geek stuff sent chills down my techno-illiterate spine. HTML builds a web page that gets the message across. Up went the web page, and another web page, and another web page......
When the Clinton-Gore team was elected for another term in office I thought, "Incredible...incredibly awful." Travelgate, Filegate, Chinagate, Monicagate, many Scandalgates flittered in and rushed out on the nightly news. IRS audits of conservative organizations, women (Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, Linda Tripp, Kathleen Willey, and more) who told FEARful tales surrounding the Clintons, many men and organizations worried out loud about national security, and a darned lot of right-thinking Americans seemed to be worried and FEARful about the future of our country.
Well, after the Clinton-Gore team took office for another four years, I wondered about my involvement in chat rooms, web pages, etc. I wasn't unique. Many Americans felt the same way. What to do?
I started sending e-mail and snail mail letters to my elected officials. I created more web pages with very focussed messages. I wrote letters to the editors, letters to talk shows, and called in to radio and TV shows. My husband and I went to a rally and held up a FreeRepublic.com sign stating our beliefs regarding Bill Clinton. We overcame our FEAR so that we could actively participate in areas where we felt we could make a difference. We still believe that every vote counts; but we also believe that one must become involved at many levels in order to make a positive impact for the future of our family; the future of our country. Anyway, back to you. So, are you still afraid to get involved? Maybe you're pro-life, but too timid to talk about it? Maybe you're tired of the "alternative lifestyles" agenda being taught at your local public school. Are you afraid of speaking out at a PTA meeting to discuss your concerns? Are you a Christian who is absolutely tired of seeing all the lawsuits and activists attempting to remove The Ten Commandments plaques from the public schools? Are you a Pastor, Reverend, or Minister saddened by Christmas displays and The Cross being removed from public areas because someone might be offended? Friends, does your heart thump erratically and your palms get slick with sweat just contemplating getting involved in any of the issues I just mentioned?
FACE YOUR FEAR NOW. Quit thinking of how you feel. Think of the big picture. Think of the future facing your family, your community, your country, and your world. You can make a difference ---if you want to.
Cindy's personal home page: Conservative Education Forum
This article copyright © 2001 by Cindy Furnare and may not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of its author. All rights reserved.