Standing up to fear

"As fear spreads throughout our culture, it's not surprising that many of us are even more tempted to run from conflict" (168)

Lappé talks a lot in these three chapters about standing up for what you believe in, not letting your fear stop you from questioning authority or compromising your integrity. She tells us to stand up and break the cycle of fear. She claims just raising her hand to speak out against Al Gore was enough to make her realize that feeling of fear can be squashed. However it is not as easy as that. Sure we are taught to stand up and not let anyone stop us but it is much easier said than done. Acceptance is something we all as humans strive for. Acceptance from our parents, our peers, bosses etc. As we learned in power and love, no one wants to be alone, we strive to gain love from others while maintaining a certain level of power. As much as I wish I could say every time I wanted to say something I have, that would be a lie. I hate conflict, I don't like fights and I don't like arguments. However throughout reading this book I have learned to look at conflict in a new light. Conflict can be a good thing. It can be ways to open up the eyes of someone else, arguing in a positive way is possible. "We must rethink fear itself so that we can see what some others may not want to see and say what they may not want to hear" (173).I've learned that voicing your opinion can open someones eyes up and challenge their point of view. It is a way to open up someones mind while letting yourself be free and staying true to your beliefs. I have no always said everything I have wanted to say before for fear or sounding ignorant, or upsetting others but now I am going to start to have some more confidence in myself and my believes. Who knows it might open up someones mind and change their way of viewing the subject. To me that is powerful and that is ways that I can begin to break my own cycle of fear-instead of letting fear fuel my feelings of powerless, I am going to fuel my power by squashing my fears.