The culture of fear in the United States is not just a media culture but a culture in itself. From entertainment to politics to social media, fear now underlines every plot line in the American narrative. There are few other ways to explain why so many American families settle on their sofas every evening to watch television programs about serial killers brutally murdering unsuspected victims.
Americans live in a culture that does not just use conflict but thrives on it. It is why American news channels replay the scenes of disasters over and over and over again. In America, it is not enough for news anchors to give viewers reason to fear, viewers must be immersed in it. Fear works best when every moment is etched into the viewers' brains.
This immersion is essential for the creation and perpetuation of a fear culture. It is not enough for someone to be murdered. A new murder every week at the same time and in the same place keeps the fear strong, ratings up and advertising dollars rolling in.
Frank Furedi, a sociologist and expert on fear, says there is not one fear that defines the modern era. Rather, the kind of fear that pervades American culture today is pluralistic. It is both promiscuous and solitary. It is nothing like the kind of productive fear humans need to build better societies.
The basic biological goal of fear is to keep people safe. It is why fear of heights and fear of flying is so prevalent. A healthy amount of fear and anxiety prevents someone from getting too near to a predator. It keeps them from leaning over a cliff. It helps them predict what others might do next so they can prevent it. It is this kind of fear that leads to the creation of laws to enforce social norms when societal trust is not enough.
But the kind of fear currently populating the air waves in America is not healthy fear. It is not even useful fear because it is irrational and doesn’t keep anyone safe. It is a fear that creates a climate for people to ignore social rules and speak whatever is on their minds in the moment. Thus, there is space in the American fear machine for Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has successfully harnessed this culture of fear. He has used a skillful combination of attacks to amass a dedicated following of scared people. He has played on the fear created by the 24/7 stream of murders, bombings and threats. He has taken advantage of the destruction of reason that accompanies this fear. He has said that people are right to be afraid. Mostly, he has said he can keep them safe.
In 1933, FDR said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. But President Roosevelt lived in another time and what now feels like another place.
The nameless, unreasonable terror that Americans face today is not its worst enemy. Rather, Americans should be more afraid of those who encourage their fear, manipulating it for their own ends. Fear is now so entrenched in this culture that Americans are no longer frightened of it. Instead, they want to make it president.