Nothing Worse Than Fear

I read with interest Janice Tay's Letter From Kyoto (a column I really enjoy), about the existence of the "other" Japan. This Japan lies outside of the earthquake and tsunami hit prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima. Untouched by the two natural disasters, and a man made one, this Japan has also been hit by a shared devastation - of cancellations by foreign tourists - actions spawned by ignorance and fear.

The saying is true - a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Why else would people in China rush to but iodized salt? Or some Singaporeans swab their thyroids with iodine after receiving the hoax sms? Or people in the Philippines keep themselves indoors? All from fear of the radiation leaks in Japan.

Fear is a powerful emotion that can cripple you like a hare staring at the headlights of an approaching car. Unable to move a hair (ops sorry for the pun!), it will get run down, being paralysed with fear.

Fear brings about unreasonable, unexplainable reactions. During wars, soldiers use fear to intimidate their enemies. At prisoner-of-war camps, fear is used to keep everyone in check.

I am again reminded of the Biblical story of David & Goliath. The Israelite army was paralyzed with fear for they had heard about the might and strength of Goliath. That was a good tactical move made by the Philistine army. In fact, Goliath had showed himself and taunted the Israelite army for 40 days! His huge frame and reputation sent waves of fear into the ranks of the soldiers. Nobody was ready to go out to fight Goliath. Not even King Saul.

David on the other hand, was sent to the battle field by his father, to get more information about the well being of his brothers. He was more familiar with God's power and protection than he was with Goliath's might. To David, he was merely an "uncircumcised" giant who was an enemy of Israel and therefor an enemy of the Lord. He had no fear and was able to defeat Goliath in battle.

When we can conquer fear, we can do almost anything. I am sure Sir Edmund Hilary and Tensing Norgay Sherpa had many fears when they climbed Everest. They managed to summit the world's highest mountain by conquering their fear of falling, of freezing, of getting lost and of death.

Will I want to still visit Japan? Yes. Not because I have no fear, but because I think my fears are unfounded. Caution is what is called for. Throw out the fear, bring in the caution. Research, assess, decide and GO! ...or stay, whichever the case may be... but don't let it be out of fear.