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State of Fear

Just read a pesudo fiction from Michael Crichton which highlights the challenge faced by modern man in any nation on earth; more so in the United States - the preponderence of media and marketing associated to incite fear amongst the citizenry.

The book at times is repetitive in its plot and has the usual good guy escapades from serious calamity including getting eaten (as in kid stories) but drives a good point until the very end where apparently Mr. Crichton has disclosed his personal position on the 'state of affairs' and ends by stating that 'he for one has no agenda'.

That I found hard to believe in its absolute since clearly the very notion of publishing the thoughts was motivated by monetary opportunity. None the less its not as outrageously disturbing or hilarious as Larry King interviewing guests about their marital situations and issues, or one of the Kardashian sisters attempting to rescue an animal.

But back to the main idea in the 'Title' of the story. People on this planet are gullible and getting lazy and scared by the day, leading to the marketing and legal industries having a respective field day in advertising 'fear' and supposedly working to protect the common bloke from those that cause it.

From warning labels on plastic bags advising clients to not consume the product (this in the day and age of Green Movement that has spread like weed), to temperature warnings on everyday hot beverages that amplify consequences of consuming super heated liquids to serious planetary warming, people have been coerced to freak out.

Marketing and legal professions have made it hard on a manufacturer to get their product into market since they assume people are born not being able to distinguish edible from non and can stay in that ignorant state for several years well into adolesence. This may be true in some handful of cases where the assumption continues to believe that the parent in question has perhaps not digested this unappetizing fact that plastic consumption has not yet been approved for human race - other bizzare species of organisms are approved but not products generated from use of ancient peat.

People for their part seem to want to have these warnings as a way of getting back (or in some cases ensure their existence) at the idiot that defies their recommendation to say 'I told you so and its not my fault'.

When you see a young kid that is learning to ride a bike or check out a swing for the first time without the notion of fear you want to continue believing that we may yet come out unscathed if we found a way to nourish that confidence, innocence and the courage to test the unknown into their adulthood.

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