The Fear of Man

By RoseAnn Salanitri

All throughout history terrorists of many nationalities and many religious backgrounds have used fear to overcome those they seek to annihilate. In the 20^th century the images of German concentration camps reeked with fear so palatable that it can still be felt in decades old film clips. Unfortunately, the inhumanity of man against man is nothing new. As long as man occupies this earth, you can be sure that those seeking to conquer others through persecution and terror will sometimes be victorious.

History, which has taught us that terrorism is nothing new, has also taught us that there are three responses to terror: 

Submit to it;

Run from it;

Stand up to it.

As reports of ISIS filled the news, so did reports of the Iraqi army fleeing in terror.  These troops were trained in warfare and given the weapons to engage in it successfully.  However, no one can give anyone else courage and so instead of staying and facing the enemy, the Iraqis chose to run.  The irony is that many were caught by ISIS and promptly executed.  In those cases, their fear contributed to the outcome they feared most – death. 

The Bible has something to say about fear.  Proverbs 29:25 states:

The fear of man brings a snare…

In other words, the fear of man is a trap. The Iraqi soldiers may be a perfect example of fear setting a trap for its victims.  On the other hand, the Kurds chose to stand up against ISIS devils and while they lost many in the process, they eventually won a victory over their evil nemesis. Looking back over the decades to WWII, one cannot help but wonder what would have happened if the train loads of Jews stood up to their NAZI terrorists – no doubt many would have perished in the process, but as irony would have it, the same did perish in concentration camps – along with their wives, mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, and children.

On a positive note, David stood up to Goliath who was terrorizing the camps of Solomon, and our own Founding Fathers stood up to the bullies across the pond.  As a result of their willingness to stand up, ancient Israel survived, and here in the New World, a nation flourished that had the guts to someday stand up to the likes of Hitler and Khrushchev. 

Today it is being widely reported that ISIS and other terrorist organizations have infiltrated this country through our southern border.  We have been told that prayer rugs, Iraqi money, as well as Iraqi, Pakistani and Iranian documents have all been found along the well-trodden paths traversed by illegal aliens. Recently six Al Qaeda-type operatives on our terrorist list were caught coming through our southern border speaking Spanish, dressing as Hispanics, and bearing Hispanic surnames – and NO, they were not children.  In addition to ISIS boldly proclaiming that they will see us in New York, on Feb. 9^th, Zachary Taylor, Vice Chairman of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, reported that Muslim cleric, Abdullah al-Nafsi stated:

There is no need for airplanes and planning; one man with the courage to carry a suitcase of anthrax through the tunnels from Mexico to the United States could kill 330,000 Americans in one hour[i].

The fact that Al-Nafsi quoted an exact number and time should tell us that a plan has already been devised.

WWII also had its terrorists, but it also had its leaders too: like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. In his first inaugural address made during perilous times, FDR astutely stated:

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance…

And Winston Churchill stated:

Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves.

I believe Patrick Henry would have agreed with Churchill. Thank God – literally!

In 2014, Hitler is long gone but there is growing evidence that ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah or their terrorist equivalents have already infiltrated America. The real question now is whether or not the American people will rise to the occasion as we have in the past, cower in fear, or continue to bury our heads in the sand until some terrorist comes along and separates that head from the rest of our body. America’s choices are the same as others have been throughout history:  we can submit, we can run, or we can stand up and fight back.   My money is on America fighting back.  I refuse to believe that the people of 9/12/2001 have disappeared with the dust of the World Trade Towers.

However, the times we are living in may require more than fighting back.  They put preeminence on protecting the Second Amendment and on going to the firing ranges and honing up on your marksmanship skills.  But there is more you can do. During times of crisis past, America had Civil Defense groups that were organized by civilians to protect our citizens using the principles of emergency operations that included crisis and emergency management, emergency preparedness and civil protection of various kinds.  These groups first emerged in WWI, were resurrected in WWII, and then again during the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

Today we have The American Civil Defense Association and The United States Civil Defense Association.  On their website, the American Civil Defense Association states:

The mission of The American Civil Defense Association (TACDA) is to provide education, products and resources that empower American Citizens with a comprehensive understanding of reasonable preparedness strategies and techniques; promoting a self-reliant, pro-active approach to protecting themselves, their families and their communities in the event of nuclear, biological, chemical or other manmade and natural disasters.  http://www.tacda.org/

 Due to the diligence and the foresight of these two groups, preparing for the worst that the minds of the terrorists have conceived may not require starting at step one.  Although they have done our homework for us, they cannot fight the fight for us.  We must do that ourselves.

Dr. Edward Teller, known as the Father of the Hydrogen Bomb, once stated:

In the most dangerous situation we have chosen the most dangerous of courses…We have chosen not to face our danger!”

The purpose of this writing is simple: to help us face our danger.  And we can and must be realistic about how we face it.  Today is the day of preparation. Tomorrow may be too late. Yes, we must continue to fight the enemy from within – such as this current administration, and the spineless representatives that have endangered us through their cowardice, but we must also prepare to meet the enemy that has been allowed to sneak in through our porous borders.  For the sake of America and for the sake of our families, friends, and neighbors: once again it is time to prepare and unite or die.  It’s that simple.

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