And yet, I believe there is at least one good and truly
enlightening use of this expression—and with such enlightenment, mankind discovers
a hope that transcends all fear of mere physical evils.
Fear is a powerful force, and can be used as a weapon. Every tyrant in history has used it, by means
of bare, unjustifiable threat, to bend men’s wills into submission against the
voice of reason. This is blind or servile
fear, which weakens humanity ultimately to the level of a brute animal. Man becomes totally compliant to the dictates
of fear, caring more for temporal, supposed security than for justice and truth.
But in time, strong men rise against the darkest tyrannies,
proving by action that they would rather die than be constrained from right reason
and justice. We have such men to thank
for fighting and winning the American Revolution of 1776. In fact, our heritage as a nation rests on
this moral strength, and when we lose it we lose the right to be called patriots.
It is this strength that may be called, in the best sense, “freedom
from fear.” It is a gauge by which we
can measure the moral integrity of a people, or conversely, the true power of
any tyrant.
Remarkably among Christians, those who struggle and whimper under
a burden of blind fear greatly dishonor their God, who has said so clearly, “My
yoke is sweet, and My burden light.” Such
Christians, rare or not as they may be, are effectively calling their God a
tyrant and a liar! Right reason is clearly
a means of discovering truth, and if God wished to inhibit reason He would not
be true.
And of course, all the saints
agree that inner peace is necessary to the love of God, and that love is not
only preferable to fear but necessary to our salvation. The “fear of the Lord” (which is the
beginning of wisdom) is not this servile or blind fear, but a reasonable
respect of God, based on our knowledge of Him and His relationship with us. It
should be, as Scripture so clearly affirms, the respect of a little child for
his father. Thus, any Christians who
live in terror live not by the light or love of God, but under the shadow of
the old liar, who is called Satan.
Whether a nation is Christian or not, the simple principle
applies: a free people are a brave
people, and a brave people are uninhibited by fear.
If fear has any effect on them, it is a
healthy reaction and resistance to the evil, not a surrender to it. If evil raises its head, they will not cower down
but stand up proudly and fight it to the death!
This freedom makes man noble, and grants him access to the superpowers
of heroism. This is, if not the basis of
lasting happiness, a clear requisite for it.
And now we must ask: are we, as a people, controlled by
fear? Have we lost some of the integrity
our forefathers held so sacred, and risked so much for?
Unfortunately, the answer is not quite what
it should be. As the culture of our
nation, and of the entire West, continues farther away from the principles of
freedom which made them worthwhile, we see fresh signs of a rising
tyranny.
This tyranny is Political Correctness. And it is wielded by tyrants so cunning that
we often are at a loss to positively identify or resist them.
To see such tyranny, all we need do is look around us. We find that many are afraid, cowering in their
minds, to express not only unconventional wisdom or beliefs, but even critical
thought.
They may be afraid to question
by reason what we are told by those who pose as our superiors. And this fear arises not only from a twisted peer
pressure, but a real threat of retribution!
The retribution for Political Correctness has various forms,
and perhaps the most noticeable is labeling.
If, for example, you say that illegal immigration must be resolved, you
are labeled a racist. If you wonder
whether men are more competent in some areas than women, you are labeled a
sexist. In fact, if you happen to be a
man who simply says anything unflattering about a particular woman, you may be
branded a misogynist. If you think that
sodomy is evil, you are sure to be called a homophobe. And, somewhat ironically, if you wonder
whether there is some underlying bias or agenda in professional communities,
you will be impulsively labeled a conspiracy theorist. The list of labels goes on.
 |
| Stereotypes reinforce generalizations. |
Naturally, when one is labelled in such a way, he is put at
an immediate disadvantage. His
reputation sours, and people who listen to the voices of Political Correctness will
shun him. He may lose his job, or even
his entire career. As Political
Correctness reaches its tentacles into all sectors, the nonconformist will even
face the real danger of legal punishment!
It is clear to all, by now, that Political Correctness is
gaining power today. Naturally, for
those of us who still believe in freedom, this is a real threat.
If it does not threaten us so much, it will
threaten our children far more. And so
again, as the heroes who gave us what freedom we still have, we must not submit
to the fear of this threat. We must absolutely
destroy, annihilate it!
You may say now that I am appealing to anger. I answer: yes, I am. You should
be angry. If you are not angry, all
hope is lost for you. You are angry
because you listen to what reason tells you, and you listen to the demands of justice. Or else, you are apathetic, because you listen
to fear.
Let just anger—and all the uninhibited virtues of freedom—swell
within you, and embrace the vibrant incentive of a hero. Or listen to fear, and wither submissively back
into nothing. The choice is yours.
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