just as i thought..or, on fear, part 2

from alternet.com:

Fear, in fact, has been shown to be one of the most powerful predictors of support for conservative leaders. Robb Willer, a sociologist at Cornell University, published a study in 2004 showing that each time a new terror alert was issued by the government between February 2001 and May 2004, the approval ratings for President Bush would subsequently rise by an average of 2.75 percentage points. Not only did the fear of external attacks produce increased support for the standing leadership, but the terror alerts also increased support for Bush's economic policies.

i still haven't responded to the dear lady who wants to save my soul. she left me a comment on my first FEAR blog to the effect that since she believes she is Saved, she is no longer afraid. she lives, she says, in a state of Perfect Assurance, knowing that she is already Safe.

from what, i wonder.

what this kind soul is missing is that the very word "saved" implies there is something to be saved FROM, and since i don't think there's anything to be Saved from, i don't feel any particular need to be SAVED. from anything. from anyone.

anybody who thinks we've evolved from our feudalistic past has only to look at two things - one, the way big corporations are organized and conduct themselves, and two, the fact we still have people who believe with all their hearts that Hell (brimstone and all) is a literal place - to see we haven't really come very far since the middle ages at all.

i just wonder how long its going to take before we all get sick of being told how afraid of everything - and everyone - we're all supposed to be.