What makes the world go 'round?

Happy holidays, all! My choice of topic for this evening is what I think is the cause of the majority, if not all of the problems in the world: fear.

Fear can be a good thing, true, but fear is also debilitating. It causes stress, it causes sleeplessness, and it causes people to try to make other people fearful. It's a downward spiral.

This year, during the election, both parties used fear in their campaigns: for the conservatives it was the fear of change, for the liberals, it was the fear of staying the same. Fear of change is a big issue for a lot of folks, and not all of them are republicans. The thing is, we are changing all of the time. We have to. We change, or we die, it's that simple. We have to learn what works and what doesn't, and then try to improve on what works. Unfortunately, most people think that if it's not broke, don't fix it. I disagree. How else would we have gotten the bionic man (or woman, for that matter)?

Fear of death also seems to be a common affliction. I, personally, don't understand why, unless everyone who fears death is completely altruistic and is worried about their loved ones after their death. After all, when you are dead, nothing (in this world) really matters too much anymore. I'm sure that if somehow we are able to retain consciousness after death -- be it spiritually, or something else -- we may care for our loved ones, but I don't see the big deal about dying, unless you are disappointed with the life you have led.

Perhaps that is the one, true fear: disappointing ourselves. We may feel like a true dumbass when somebody points out that we are being idiotic... heck, we may even lash out and try to persuade ourselves that it's the other person's problem... but maybe we should try to learn from our mistakes. That's what the rest of the animal kingdom does, right? They try, and if they fail, they adapt, and change, and survive.

And to all the folks fearing 2012: Just remember, if everyone dies at once, you don't have to lose anybody.