Introduction

Abstract

When I decided to approach this project, the thing most apparent to me was fear. Fear is a crippling state of being. It operates from the individual’s perspective of wanting no surprises and the desire to be aware of every move, position, and thought. I developed an acrostic for the word FEAR: Forever Entrapped And Robbed. The United States is more ideologically, philosophically, culturally, linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse than she has been in any given point in her history; however, many of her citizens are currently living in a state of fear. I do understand the reasons: the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; our government’s response to Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005; the global economic crisis of 2008–2009; the election of our nations’ first African American president; the Gulf Oil Spill; and Arizona immigration legislation of 2010. Many of these events would create such fear; however, all of them have one thing in common: the power and speed with which those events were communicated, broadcast, and streamed across digital airwaves all over the world. What stands out the most is how we allow this fear to take over our lives in multiple ways. We fear our neighbors; therefore, we do not engage them. We fear young people and the way they look; therefore, we do not have conversations with them. We fear the possibility of terrorists’ attacks; therefore, we utilize eavesdropping and surveillance devices on our citizens. There are some of us who fear the lost of gun rights; therefore, we stockpile weapons. We fear anything that is different from who we are and what we believe. This nation has, at many points within our history, become more united because of our fear; however, as our borders, physical and virtual, become less protective and the opportunities to connect more via the digital world expand, we must educate our citizenry to not live in fear but in hope.