ALWAYS AT WAR: AN ANALYSIS OF FEAR IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICS

A culture always at war, America’s political discourse has become saturated with hatred and fear. The establishment media, which once thrived on gathering information, exists solely for anxiety promotion. Confirmation of our greatest fears, from economic collapse to nuclear annihilation, is projected unfiltered on every platform, tailored to match what scares us most. As we like and we share, our fears grow exponentially, leaving us stuck in a frozen state of paranoia. Fear is everywhere. We are afraid Trump will start a war with North Korea, relying on Kim Jong-Un to be a rational actor. We’re also afraid Kim will unleash his nuclear arsenal on America and rely on Trump’s rational diplomacy to keep international security in check. We’re afraid Trump is a Russian puppet and hope the Mueller probe will save us from the death of our democracy. We fear the political goals of Democrats, who hope to overturn a legitimate election using a fake Russia investigation. We’re worried the fascist government will suppress free speech and we’re worried the government isn’t doing enough to suppress free speech to stop hate. There are too many guns for children to be safe, and not enough guns for teachers to protect us. We want to elect more women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and Muslims to preserve their rights. We fear women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and Muslims as we want to preserve our rights. We are afraid of migrants leaping into our borders and we are terrified of the government cracking down on innocent refugees on the border. As we hyperventilate over an infinite amount of threats, we lash out and grasp whatever form of defense lies closest.