In reading the article “The ever changing face of fear”, I agree that our country is consumed with fear.

However, this fear is not rooted in some outside force. The greatest fear resides within. We have a fear that we have lost our country to those who don’t have the same beliefs as we do. We fear someone has taken away our constitutional rights to arm themselves or our rights to tell others who they can love or what they can do in their private lives. The fear that everyone does not look or think alike scares the hell out of some.

Our country has been a melting pot for decades allowing immigrants entry from many European and other countries looking for the “American Dream” and if you work hard it can be yours. This diversity has made our country the greatest country in the world. While we allowed others to come in with all rights, many African Americans who help build this country were denied those same rights. I contend the face of fear is not for ever changing, it’s still rooted in our dislike for those who do not look, worship or act the way we do.

I too love the USA and wish everyone had the same perspective of things as I do. Football should be our national sport, we should all worship on Sunday and the work week begins on Tuesday. What a country that would be. Even though things are not the way I would like, I can still say what a country we have. Finally, I believe there are threats to our livelihood from terrorist groups and other countries and we must always be vigilant to these threats and prepare ourselves.

As the other writer stated, we will prevail against these, but I contend we must be able to overcome the fear within before we can unite and overcome the fear from the outside.

 

Melvin Lumpkin