Fear and Anxiety in Politics

Fear and Anxiety in Politics
The world of politics is controlled by fear and anxiety since people make irrational decisions to ward off any danger. People have an inner desire to live a significant that is not hindered by negative events. They also realize that they are vulnerable to death and thus make attempts to secure themselves (Neumann, 2017). Fear and anxiety have a significant impact on the political landscape of a nation since it alters the decision-making ability of people and interferes with their actions.
Impaired Decisions
Fear and anxiety are a significant force in politics since they are used to impair the freedom of people during elections. A fearful man cannot make independent decisions since they will incline to their fear and anxiety as compared to reality. Political leaders utilize fear and anxiety to prompt people to elect them into power (Neumann, 2017). For example, when people feel vulnerable to incidences that cause fear and anxiety they ascribe to the leaders who pose as solution providers who will deliver them from their trouble. The incidence has been described as conspiracy theory which is used by authoritarian leaders when they want to get into power (Neumann, 2017). They hypnotize people into believing that there is danger in the country that should be resolved. Consequently, people make irrational decisions, which they cannot make when they are not hypnotized by fear and anxiety.
A person who is suffering from fear and anxiety cannot make independent decisions. They have a protective function, a cathartic effect and destructive effect. The protective function prompts a person to always desire to keep off danger (Pyszczynski, 2004). For example, the politics after 9/11 were affected by the fear and anxiety that people had received after the terror attack. People realized how vulnerable they were to terror attacks. They imagined the people who were in the World Trade Center and how vulnerable they were to die. The impact caused people to make political decisions that were based on fear and anxiety. For example, people developed a hatred against the black-Americans and even attacked them to death in some cases (Pyszczynski, 2004). The decisions were based on the desire to ward off the danger which they believed was caused by blacks, Muslims and Mexicans.
The destructive effect can make people develop into panicky anxiety until they are unable to do anything to escape the danger or fight back. It has a significant political force that politicians use to make people feel helpless due to strong external forces (Neumann, 2017). As a result, people feel challenged to make an irrational decision which they would not have made were it not for the fear and anxiety. For example, fear and anxiety had a strong effect on the formation of Nazism since people felt that they have a great enemy that hinders their progress and success (Neumann, 2017). The various challenges that led to the formation of the movement include inflation, poor political leadership, depression, moral, political, and social homelessness. The purpose was to unite people and fight against enemies in Europe and create a racial hegemony. Therefore, people did not make independent decisions, but they were drive-by fear to form a strong movement that would alter the course of history.
Manipulation of the Masses
Human beings who experience fear and anxiety can be manipulated since they want to shut down the feeling of insecurity. The feeling of insecurity is kept unknown from human beings who consequently are unable to protect themselves from the effects of fear (Neumann, 2017). Although animals experience fear, human beings experience a deeper form called anxiety where they are not clear about what they are afraid of. Additionally, terror management theory prompts a person to insulate themselves against death and merely living an insignificant life. People appreciate their self-importance and thus they make decisions based on the need to keep off anything that can threaten their existence. For example, after the 911 terror attack, America made major political decisions such as sending troops to fight against terrorist groups (Pyszczynski, 2004). The political decision to invade another country was based on the need to protect the lives of people living in America.
Fear and anxiety make people project themselves in the pain and danger when events that never occurred again happen and focus on their self-importance. It is one of the aspects of human beings that have helped them to overcome challenges that could have threatened their existence (Neumann, 2017). Therefore, fear and anxiety is a political force that determines how people make decisions. Most of the decisions that people make during elections are not based on independent thinking but on fear and anxiety. For example, people tend to support and agree with others who support their worldviews while attempting to keep off those who have opinions that are against their perspectives. Human beings are thus manipulated in the political arena to make decisions based on anxiety and fear (Neumann, 2017). A politician who understands the problems that people are going through will explain the issues and describe how life-threatening they are. On the other hand, the will paint other politicians as people who cannot be of any help to the public.
Research studies have been carried out on the aspect of fear and anxiety and the effect on politics. The political landscape in America changed after the 911 attack since people were acting on self-defense anxiety. For example, the approval rates for the former president George W. Bush hovered between 90 to 95 percent (Pyszczynski, 2004). Musicians composed patriotic songs, companies published flags and t-shirts with patriotic messages in thousands. The nationalistic tendencies were a clear indicator of how fear and anxiety can bring people together for a common goal. The goal was to support the nation and campaign against such activities. Therefore, even people who did not like the former president George W. Bush started supporting him as a way of attaining the goal of securing the country (Pyszczynski, 2004). People also started meeting for commemorations that brought the world to a standstill as people remembered the horrific terror attack.
People are driven by fear and anxiety to do what they cannot do in ordinary circumstances. The politics after the 911 attack changed since people came together for a common goal. For example, people supported military action against the perpetrators who attacked Americans (Pyszczynski, 2004). They supported that the government is justified to send troops to fight against the Taliban. Additionally, people started giving donations to support firefighters and police departments that were involved in the rescue mission. Others made long queues to donate blood which was not even utilized as they had expected. The situation also increased the need for heroes who would protect the country at any cost. The decisions were based on the mortality and vulnerability of people (Neumann, 2017). The fear imposed on people prompted them to make decisions that were aimed at fighting against vulnerability. Similarly, political parties understand that people make decisions based on fear. Therefore, during election campaigns they make people believe that they can ward off the danger facing them thus altering their voting patterns. Various countries have experienced violence after elections since the voting patterns make a controversial president win, yet he or she was not the best candidate.
Fear and Decision-making
Research studies have shown that people are living in an era of fear. It has used various case studies to demonstrate that people have made decisions based on fear and anxiety and not reality or facts. For example, Jen Senko’s father was brainwashed when he started listening to various programs on his way to work (Strauss, 2016: 2024 – Do my homework – Help write my assignment online). Although he loved from various backgrounds, he allover started believing that the immigrants had come to take away their jobs, and thus started hating them. Another case study in California shows that a marriage broke down after the husband started yelling in the house while watching news that indicated his gun and freedom would be taken away (Strauss, 2016: 2024 – Do my homework – Help write my assignment online). History shows that people have been deluded by fear and anxiety to make controversial decisions, especially during election periods. The decisions that people make out of fear and anxiety have been studied and findings reveal that people are compelled to suppress such events from threatening their lives.
Conclusion
Fear and anxiety is a significant force that changes the political landscape by interfering with the decisions that people make. People make decisions to ward off the danger when they feel vulnerable to any attack. Fear and anxiety cause protective function, a cathartic effect and destructive effect. The effect of fear and anxiety has been studied at length in the aftermath of the 911 terror attack. The results show that people responded out of fear and anxiety about their vulnerability and desire to protect against themselves from future attacks. They also supported leaders such as former president George W. Bush who was supporting the ideas that were meant to suppress the risk of another attack. People supported that military troops should be sent to fight the terrorists who claimed responsibility for the attacks. Additionally, people came together in solidarity to support the military, donate materials to the firefighters and donate blood in healthcare facilities. The donations escalated within a short period yet during normal days people would rarely donate to those who were needy in hospitals or support the military. The decisions were triggered by fear and anxiety since people realized how vulnerable they were to such attacks. The fear and anxiety prompted them to come together for a common course.
References
Neumann, F. L. (2017). Anxiety and politics. Triple C: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, 15(2), 612-636.
Pyszczynski, T. (2004). What are we so afraid of? A terror management theory perspective on the politics of fear. Social Research: An International Quarterly, 71(4), 827-848.
Strauss, N. (2016: 2024 – Do my homework – Help write my assignment online). Why we’re living in the age of fear. Rolling Stone, 6.

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