Be afraid.

The food you’re eating. The water you’re drinking. The containers they’re sitting in. The BPA. The non-organic. The processed. The food-bourne illness. The bacteria. The viruses. The mold. The termites.

Be afraid.

The government, spying on you. The companies, stealing from you. The guy next door to you, the person standing at your door.

Be afraid.

EM radiation. Cell phones. The microwaves from your microwave. Too much sunlight. Sunscreen additives. Lack of vitamin D.

Be afraid.

You’re doing it wrong. 16 hacks to do it better. You’re not pretty enough, thin enough, rich enough, smart enough, kind enough, ruthless enough, and you don’t part your hair the right way.

Be afraid.

Airplane travel. Bus travel. Sniffling children coughing right in your face. Trains derailing. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Lightning strikes. Walking outside your front door.

Be afraid.

Falls at home. Termites. Household chemicals. Your spouse. Your children. Your mother in law. Is your cat trying to kill you?

Be afraid.

Awareness. New diseases. Threats from strangers. Horrors on the news, in your paper, blowing up Facebook. Danger. Injustice. Scandal. Attention now. All your fault. Nothing you can do.

Be afraid?

Your hometown has stood for a hundred years, no fire, no flood, no war, no burning to the ground. You did not get cholera as a child. You are not dying of consumption, or plague, or guillotine.

Be afraid?

You expect all three of your children to live to adulthood. You own a house, or rent a place, and won’t be dragged out into the street on pretense. You are warm, or cool, when you want to be. You may live to be 80, two lifetimes or more in the old days.

Be afraid?

Homeless shelters post signs to tell people to line up for food—most homeless can read, and there is food to be had. Doctors have cures for diseases, and treatments for many more. We have nearly killed polio. Malaria may be next. The world turns, and people live. People volunteer to clean parks, and scrub streets, and watch children.

Be afraid?

You can talk to your aunt overseas every day. You can apply for jobs sight unseen in other cities. You can read about the Bad Things nearly instantly, and choose to care. You have the time to care, and the brainpower. You can read. You can think.

Be afraid?

Your food is safer than it’s ever been. Your home is safer than it’s ever been. Your children’s pajamas are fireproofed. Your microwave is shielded. Your wall outlets are rated for safety. And if it all comes down, 3 minutes away is a fire truck and two hours away is an insurance agent to make it all right. And you don’t store your money in the mattress.

Be afraid?

Your country is safer than it has been since 1960, when your mom threw you out the door to bike with your friends for hours by yourself. Predators are no more numerous, and everyday folks are legion. We stopped Flight 93, the Crotch Bomber, and countless terrors. Your neighbors may help you. You may help your neighbors. Some will get on planes and help strangers.

Be afraid.

Car accidents. Heart disease. Stray bullets, and falling down stairs. Cigarettes and cancer and living until old age. Not glamorous, but real risks. Drive a little safer, move a little more; the risks won’t ever go to zero. You wake up in the morning and do your best. You live.

Be afraid—if you must.

Small risks are trumpeted, fear comes out big—ask yourself who benefits. Gold and clicks and power, all given away. Be wary, lest you be controlled. Fear sells papers. You are worth more than fear.

Breathe.

Reasonableness. Don’t jump out in front of the train or the bus. Double your 0.000001% risk probably doesn’t matter, no matter how loudly they yell. Breathe. Smile. Take precautions when you can, when it matters. Breathe. And live.

There is no need to be afraid.