Fear is a State of Mind

"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear."
– Rosa Parks

Daily life has changed drastically over the years. Ever since 9/11, things have been chaotic, and it’s become a necessity to look over one’s shoulder. I turned 16 when 9/11 happened and I instantly knew that by my 17th birthday, things would be vastly different within our country. Fear has been instilled on Americans so much that we willingly enforce the banning of liquids as carry-ons on our airplanes will somehow protect our freedom from the hands of terrorists.

Fear however, does more than cause an inexplicable paranoia. It calls for precautions and defense mechanisms. Having a great friend of mine in the USMC, I have come to understand a different side of the war. Although some spend time protesting against war efforts, it is essential to understand that the war is being kept away from home. In an ideal world, a country wouldn’t have to sacrifice lives in the name of freedom.

Among the skeptics, patriots, and enemies at large, there exist minds born to analyze such heavy issues. One such mind is Arnaud de Borchgrave, who Daniel had on his show a couple weeks ago. He has been an authoritative journalist for sixty-two years, has covered eighteen wars, and has written for publications including the Washington Times. As impressive as his journalistic career is, it is not Borchgrave's main focus. He serves as the director and Senior Advisor of the Transnational Threats projects at the Center of Strategic and International Studies. It’s a mouthful of a title because it’s a handful of an occupation. Borchgrave's project was initiated after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He is an expert in U.S. foreign policy, the Middle East, counter-terrorism, cyber space, and organized crime.

Whether we realize it or not, the conflict in the Middle East affects our daily lives whether we realize it or not. Borchgrave proves how fitting Newton’s Law is, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The main objective as Director and Senior Advisor is to help the current and future president strategize and help prevent future attacks from happening. At the moment, he values Iran and feels that the Bush Administration should be focused on maintaining its stability because they are most likely waiting to see who becomes the next president. He wants to prevent Iran from blowing up and causing the next regional war. He feels that this was an ideologically well motivated war where good intelligence was ignored.

Borchgrave commented that the economic status quo is out of whack due to companies increasing prices. Meanwhile, fortune 100 CEO’s are working on an 11 million dollar salary averages. This only increases the gap between the poor and the mega rich. This is a truth I'm sure we are all familiar with. Borchgrave currently has 4 million dollars in retirement funds, but due to the market conditions, he is currently not moving any funds because at this point, financial advisors don't know what move to make next.

The reality we all know could change when the next president comes into office, and right now Borchgrave isn’t too confident with John McCain. This is primarily because McCain’s campaign speeches do not consist of realistic proposals if not they ramble and overuse the word “etcetera.” As Daniel says, Borchgrave may not say things we like to hear, but more than often he is right on the money.