I lived in Washington, D.C. with my cousin this summer while interning for The James Wilson Institute. One morning I passed by her copy of The Washington Post, and saw the headline, “Fear Is a Part of Daily Life.” Sadly, it was a story about gun violence in D.C.
The specifics of the story aside, I began considering the title of the article itself. That fear is a part of daily life in general is a truism. But the implicit suggestion, it seems to me, is that this is lamentable. Applied to the case of D.C. gun violence, who could disagree? But what about more generally? Is fear merely something to be avoided?
Fear will always be a part of daily life. As long as there are humans, there will be fear. We could not have courage if there was no fear. Bravery is characterized by acting appropriately even though we are afraid. Without fear, there is no courage.
But that rather esoteric proof aside, we must remember that Jesus had fear in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was to be taken away to face His Passion. “He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want’” (Mk 14:36). We see Christ, who knew what had to befall him and that it was done from love, still afraid of what was to befall Him.
Should we have “nothing to fear but fear itself”? Hardly, and we should rather be afraid of the person who says that. It requires a certain Stoic vanity to suggest that there is nothing to fear. The Stoics were right that we ought to fear future acts of sinfulness (not that they would’ve used that language; “sin” was not part of their lexicon), but their understanding of “reasonable fear” is deficient. There are many things that we would rightly fear besides our own propensity towards evil.
We would rightly be afraid of the lion charging at us while on safari. We are wired with an intuitive and instinctive knowledge for what’s beneficial for our survival and well-being. Being afraid of threats is a useful tool that was part of God’s design when He created us. Likewise, the fear over the uncertainty of being killed in a community with high levels of gun violence is a good thing to have if one is serious about getting home at the end of the day.
Would it be better if there was no gun violence, or if there was no risk of being mauled and eaten by the lion while on safari? Certainly. But life is characterized by risk. We do not live in a perfect world. As long as there is risk and uncertainty, there will be things to fear. As long as there is human evil in the world, there will be things to fear.
There are many Biblical injunctions to not be afraid. In various places, Jesus tells His Apostles to “fear not,” or “do not be afraid.” In one of my favorite lines from the Old Testament, God says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name. You are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). And it is true: in the presence of our Lord, we are redeemed and protected from all that could make us afraid.
And in that same spirit, we should “fear no evil.” It is a fixed game. “Evil” is defined by Augustine as a privatio boni, a privation of Goodness. Because evil is relative to the Good, for the Good to be destroyed by evil means for evil to destroy itself, which is an absurdity. Therefore, we can rest easy knowing that God will triumph over evil in the end.
But we are not at the end yet. Fear is a gift in the meantime. It is an instinct that we have, and it’s to our benefit. We are rational creatures—that’s what it means to be made in imago Dei—but we make rational determinations about our fears post hoc. In the heat of the moment, our fears are perhaps the most useful tool we have, and we should be thankful for them. We may have misplaced fears, but “fear in us” is not misplaced. And a life without fear—a utopian fantasy—is certainly a life not worthy of being called “fully human.”
Tom is a senior in the Lynch School, where he is studying Secondary Education, History, and Philosophy, with a minor in Restorative Justice. He is President of the Boston College Republicans, and President emeritus of the St. Thomas More Society. When not taking too many classes or writing for The Torch or The Free Press, Tom loves to watch sports, listen to metal music, and defend Leo Strauss against (unfair) accusations of Gnosticism.
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