Perception and the Politics of Fear

[Guest guest]

The online dogfights are illuminating and entertaining. They show

ego dynamics in their full aeronautical splendour.

 

However, the key point is that when A reacts to B, is A reacting to

B or is A reacting to his or her perception of B? The distinction is

very subtle. Here's a Taoist story taken from the Lieh Tzu that

illustrates the point:

 

The Stolen Axe

 

A woodcutter went out one morning to cut some firewood and

discovered that his favourite axe was missing. He couldn't find it

anywhere. Then he noticed his neighbours son standing near the

woodshed. The woodcutter thought, " Aha! That boy must have stolen my

axe. I see how he lurks about the shed, shifting uneasily from foot

to foot, greedy hands stuffed in his pockets, a guilty look on his

face. I can't prove it, but he MUST have stolen my axe. "

 

A few days later the woodcutter was surprised and happy to come upon

the axe under a pile of firewood. " I remember now, " he said, " Just

where I'd left it! "

 

The next time he saw his neighbour's son, the woodcutter looked

intently at the boy, scrutinising him from head to toe. How odd, he

thought, somehow this boy has lost his guilty look...

 

War of the Worlds

 

An interesting historical point is the public performance of H. G.

Well's " War of the Worlds " in 1939 from the 20th floor at 485

Madison Avenue. The program was done in documentary-style complete

with newsflashes and sound effects. Some people ignored the opening

credits of the program and took it to be an actual invasion from

Mars. Contemporary newspapers reported mass panic and anxiety, with

people fleeing the area, and others thinking that they could smell

poison gas and see flashes of lightning in the distance. Six million

heard the CBS show; 1.7 million believed it to be true; and 1.2

million were genuinely frightened...12, 500 newspapers reported the

broadcast and its impact on the public. Hitler cited the panic

as " evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy " .

 

When thought participates in perception

 

As the story of the stolen axe illustrates, thought can participate

in perception; it doesn't neutrally report the way things are, as is

commonly understood. The WMD case and the subsequent 2003 Iraq War

are a case in point. A threat does not have to be real for there to

be panic and hysteria and preparations for war...

 

In Orwell's " 1984 " , Big Brother and the state media frighten the

public against an unknown enemy and then pass draconian laws

to " protect the public " . The threat may or may not be real, but the

politicians find that the permanent state of emergency and fear

gives them an inexhaustible source of power. The people's demand for

total security means that they end up living in totalitarian state.