FEAR - An unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
Fear exists for the purpose of keeping us away from danger. However, the word “dangerous” can mean a million different things to different people. That is because many things fall into the category of danger. Those elements are different for each, and every individual. If we see things as dangerous, we fear them. The question we must ask ourselves is why do we see these things as dangerous? Is it because of something we know, or something we think we know? Is it common knowledge, or is it ignorance? The line between those two concepts seems to blur far too easily. The key to their separation is to dive deeper and deeper into the “why” until you find the root cause of your fear. It is where you will find the difference between fearing spiders because they can be poisonous and fearing a person because society teaches you to. This world is incredibly complicated and all we can do is try to understand each other. The only way to do that is through communication and empathy. At the end of the day, we will never be able to understand exactly what it is like to be in someone else's shoes. We will never see the full picture. Understanding this, is the only way to extinguish the fear. Knowing that we do not and cannot know everything is the only way to end a fear that is ignited by ignorance.
To me, there are three types of fear.
Logical fear: the type of fear that tells us to be cautious while driving because someone is at risk of getting hurt.
Dream-restricting fear: the type of fear that holds us back from our dreams and causes us to think of risk as danger when in fact the only danger is failure. But who says failure is a bad thing?
Finally, racism-fueled fear: the type of fear that is fueled by stereotypes and ignorance. It tells people to fear other people who have no intention of harming anyone. Fear was engineered to keep us alive, yet it can also keep us from living, figuratively and literally. It has turned from something meant to keep us safe, to a plague that spreads like wildfire and ensures that no one is safe. We are now in a world where humans fear other humans because of their race, religion or because of their appearance. This is the ugliest form of fear. It is one that divides countries and communities and causes people to take lives, valuable human lives, of kind and wonderful people, out of the fear of losing their own. The type of fear that stops someone at an airport because of the way they practice their faith. It is the type of fear that causes some of mankind's most horrid and unjust actions.
Nonetheless, we have the power to eliminate this fear. We can do this by building bridges among communities and transform the fear into knowledge of, and respect for, one another. We need to stop being okay with believing things simply because the world does. We need to think for ourselves and decide what is a logical fear and what is an ignorant fear. Then, and only then, can we begin to improve the way we see and treat each other, one individual at a time. We can conquer fear, eliminate division, and transform the world into a brighter place, one that replaces fear with hope and sees the end of a never-ending struggle.
Qaeeza Ramji is 16 years old, and is a student at Reynolds Secondary School in Victoria. She is an aspiring writer, poet and fashion designer. A proud Ismaili Muslim, she spends her Saturdays teaching religious education. Despite her quiet personality, she is passionate about using her voice to bring about positive change.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, HERE
* This article was published in the print edition of the Times Colonist on Saturday, August 22nd 2020
