WHat does this quote mean “There’s nothing to fear, but fear itself”?
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Think of the famous Aristotle quote: “Law is reason free from passion”. FDR’s quote falls into the same category.
Passion can cloud judgment and our ability to reason out a situation. When that happens, emotions such as fear overrun our ability to rationalize. Fear is instinctual, something from the gut. It lacks any mental reasoning.
FDR was saying it to the American Public en mass. The individual has the capacity to reason. The public, does not. “The masses” are instinctual and follow the lead. They do not think, and they let others run the show for them and tell them how to feel as well.
there is nothing to fear for everything can be overcomed by faith and courage, just learn to identify the cause of fear…
but fear itself is discomfort, it will affect everything in you including your reasoning and worst, your whole being…that’s what made fear so fearing..giving yourself to the trouble fear might give you is the real fear!
But real danger (as there was then) requires that we act rationally. So fear itself was to be feared. We had to put aside our fear and act as if we weren’t afraid.