Dear Editor: Fear, Love and Motivation

Dear Editor,

I would like to lead out with several paragraphs from an article I penned almost 6 years ago. To quote;

“What passes for religion today is largely what drives the political engine of this nation! What people believe about a certain thing motivates them to, say, vote for the lesser of two evils, follow a certain party line, or throw their support behind a certain candidate that promises change. In order to preserve their way of life (as they see it), people will attack, with all their fervor, anything that they view as a threat to that way of life!

The politics of this nation, dysfunctional as they are, are largely if not wholly driven by fear; fear that if we elect this man as president, he will just make matters worse & unleash the Muslim Horde, fear that if we elect that man/woman, he/she will kill our already weak economy and turn this into a third-world’ nation. These fears are probably well-founded; in fact, to some extent, they seem to be coming true before our very eyes!”

Maybe this is a bit harsh, but I hate politics and religion, though today, I will focus on politics! In conversation, I have, somewhat proudly, stated that I religiously DON’T watch the news. One reason for this is that we only see what they want us to see. Another reason, the main reason, maybe, is that everything is so politically driven that one cannot escape it! Politics, although not in itself a bad thing, much like religion, has been corrupted by fear. We live in a fear-based and fear-driven economy; there’s not much in this country, to say nothing of this world today, that is not rooted in fear. Fear is a great controller and manipulator, arguably, the greatest this world has seen.

“Politics.” It almost seems like a dirty word any more. Two things one isn’t supposed to talk about in the bar, for instance, are politics and religion. Interesting that they have fear in common. I was approached this past week and asked if I was going to respond to a letter from one of those Butte Democrats. My response was that I try to stay out of politics, but the more I thought about it, maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe more peace-loving people should be involved in politics. My political stance, if it could be called that, is that legislation doesn’t equal morality. People might capitulate, but is that true obedience, or is that simply fear-based conformity?

Fear may be a great manipulator, but love is an even greater motivator! Love is what brings true obedience; fear is what makes us conform. Whether it’s obeying a government mandate or making decisions for “the greater good,” the politics of today will never bring us to where we need to be; only love will do that. Politics, as it stands today, can only spur division, but true politics, motivated by love, will bring peace, not only to the world, but to our little town!

Charles Haddon Shank

Whitehall, Montana