Fear in HoCo

Seen this morning on Twitter:

Never understood why people waste energy trying to block others happiness, when it takes less energy to find your own. -- Kwame Rose

My response:

I think it comes from fear.

Of course, my answer wasn't the only one.

#SomePeople (unknowingly?) treat happiness as #ZeroSumEquation -i.e.- if u have some, then I have less. #False. -- politicur

Rose's response:

I think it's knowingly in most cases. People do things out of spite, and jealousy.

In truth, I think the answer is found in all three responses. Some people act out of fear, fear that they are losing something. Some people do, knowingly, act out of spite and jealousy. (Wait--doesn't jealousy take us back to fear?)

I bring this up today because I witnessed a conversation on Facebook last night where it seemed that someone was making a deliberate attempt to stir up fear and discord between local Democrats and Republicans. Yes, I know there's plenty of that to go around on any given day. But right now there's a spirit of detente surrounding the issue of improving the County Schools and I'd like to see it continue.

It's also possible that what I saw was just one person bumbling along without thinking about anything. There's a lot of that on social media. But watching the conversation unfold made me uneasy. As I suggested last night:

If someone can get us to start fearing eachother instead of truly focusing on the Board of Ed, then we all lose and the incumbents win.

I realize I have strayed from the original quote about blocking happiness.

This is really all about fear. Fear of those who are different. Fear that those people may wish us ill. Fear of bad things happening. Fear of being overpowered or overwhelmed. It is going to take a powerful amount of focus, self-discipline, and--like it or not--trust to get better candidates elected to the Board of Education.

Actually, if we let fear win this one, we'll be blocking our own happiness, and that of our children.

One last quote:

We ruin things, by looking for a reason not to believe that it's actually happening. -- Kwame Rose

Working together for a common goal, despite our differences: that's what is actually happening. Right now. In Howard County.

Don't let fear ruin it.