Life and Fear
I have been feeling rather reflective lately. I am not sure why. Maybe out of summer boredom. Maybe because I am closing a chapter. Anyhow, regardless of the reason, I am confused, satisfied, saddened and in love all at the same time. And somehow I see these all as good things. I guess I just have not taken the time to stop over the last few years to really reflect on the direction my life was headed in. I just let it all happen. And since I never bothered to take time and reflect, I never tried to steer my life in any direction except towards success. But was I really successful if I developed without looking at the reasons behind it? And am I in fact actually developed? What is developed, if change is constantly occuring? Always a question and never really a straight forward answer...if one at all.
A little light bulb went off in my IR Theories class the other day. We were talking about hierarchy and anarchy. There is a theory by Kenneth Waltz that states international anarchy is the inevitable and predominant cause of war. Anyhow, underneath all of the analysis, for all of Waltz's neorealist reasons behind war, he never mentions fear. It seems to me though, that fear is inevitably the reason behind war, peace, and biggest of all CHANGE. Fear does not have to always have to have negative effects, as most IR theorists tend to believe, but it is the primary catalyst for change. Think about it.....rulers are afraid of what another country might do, so they make a change...could be towards peace or war, doesn't matter. FEAR. Same is true for people and everyday life. You are afraid of what another person might do, the stag hunt theory, so you act accordingly. You are afraid of what you WERE, ARE or are ABOUT TO BECOME, so you change. You are afraid of being unhappy...so you change. I think there are very few times that people just genuinely change unless it is through a slow unconscious progression. But the more conscious change, the ones we try to make immediately and inevitably cannot because change takes time, come from a fear of something, good or bad.
I wonder what would happen if we all stopped being afraid? Would the world and our lives end in anarchy or would they instead be lived more fully and peacefully?
What do you think?
A little light bulb went off in my IR Theories class the other day. We were talking about hierarchy and anarchy. There is a theory by Kenneth Waltz that states international anarchy is the inevitable and predominant cause of war. Anyhow, underneath all of the analysis, for all of Waltz's neorealist reasons behind war, he never mentions fear. It seems to me though, that fear is inevitably the reason behind war, peace, and biggest of all CHANGE. Fear does not have to always have to have negative effects, as most IR theorists tend to believe, but it is the primary catalyst for change. Think about it.....rulers are afraid of what another country might do, so they make a change...could be towards peace or war, doesn't matter. FEAR. Same is true for people and everyday life. You are afraid of what another person might do, the stag hunt theory, so you act accordingly. You are afraid of what you WERE, ARE or are ABOUT TO BECOME, so you change. You are afraid of being unhappy...so you change. I think there are very few times that people just genuinely change unless it is through a slow unconscious progression. But the more conscious change, the ones we try to make immediately and inevitably cannot because change takes time, come from a fear of something, good or bad.
I wonder what would happen if we all stopped being afraid? Would the world and our lives end in anarchy or would they instead be lived more fully and peacefully?
What do you think?