{"id":5803,"date":"2016-03-29T08:32:25","date_gmt":"2016-03-29T13:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=5803"},"modified":"2016-03-22T15:16:57","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T20:16:57","slug":"april-3-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/april-3-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"April 3, 2016, The Opposite of Faith: Doubt or Fear?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Karrman, DesMoines, IA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Warm-up Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is the scariest thing in your life?<\/p>\n

Paralyzing Fear
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\"shutterstock_350801831\"<\/a>\u00a0Whether you want to be a part of it or not, we are all constantly bombarded with political ads and conversations during this time of year. No matter which side of the aisle you are on, there seems to be one thread that is constant in everything we see and hear: Fear. And that has been the case for the last couple of decades. During this time anger and alienation between political parties have been growing themes in every political cycle.<\/p>\n

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According to Rasmussen Reporting nearly 3 out of 4 Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track (Rasmussen Reports<\/a>). The 2015 American Values Survey cites: \u201cThe number of Americans citing crime, racial tensions, and illegal immigration as major problems increased substantially between 2012 and 2015.\u201d While there is no way to measure racial tensions, some things are measurable. During this time the total number of crimes have actually dropped across all categories while the total population has increased, resulting in a significantly lower crime rate (Disaster Center Crime Report<\/a>). Pew Research reports that the population of illegal immigrants has decreased from its peak in 2007 (Pew Research Center<\/a>). Jobs, GDP growth (a measurement of our wealth as a nation), and the number of Americans with health insurance have all risen since 2012, pointing towards a trend in the right direction. Despite evidence to the contrary, doom and gloom seem to dominate the political landscape now more than ever.<\/p>\n

Norman Ornstein, a world renowned political scientist, proposed that what most people know about society and the economy comes from cable news, talk radio, blogs and their amplification from emails and other social media shared by close friends and relatives. This leads politicians to lean on long lists of enemies which they believe Americans should be afraid of. Republican candidates claim that our perceived problems come from Mexicans, Muslims, \u201cpolitical correctness\u201d, and \u201cWashington\u201d. Meanwhile, Democrats espouse the evils of \u201cBig Money\u201d, racial injustice, and gun ownership as the major issues driving fear in America. Regardless of which side you identify with, it\u2019s clear to see that our political campaigns are fueled first and foremost by fear.<\/p>\n

Many Americans have found ourselves having above all, a faith in these stories of doom, and social media doesn\u2019t seem to be helping. \u00a0As we sit and stew in our self-selected circles of fear reinforcement, we become paralyzed by our fear. Regardless of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, our fears leave us unable to actually do anything even when we do come up with a good idea to effect change. As a nation, America seems to be addicted to fear itself. Whether it is a different racial group, the overbearing rich, the grasping poor, or the lofty brainiacs, we will cling to fear far more easily than we look for hope.<\/p>\n

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Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n