Harmfulness Of Fear Essay

Srujan Dandu
Mrs. Huffaker
American Lit 7
4 September 2017
The Harmfulness of Fear
In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Russell). Fear causes many problems in our lives. Fear influences many of a person’s actions and decisions. However, people usually regret the decisions or actions they made out of fear. Also, these actions and decisions can cause problems for those people in their future. Fear is a harmful emotion, for it clouds people’s judgement, disables them from taking action, and causes them to make decisions that they will regret later.
Of course, some people think differently about this. They may state that fear is

But still, people fear things that would not even harm them, such as insects or heights. These fears just cause problems for people and can even cause harm in a person’s life. One way in which fear is harmful is that it clouds people’s judgement. Fear can influence a person’s judgement, causing them to not think clearly about certain things. In the article “Why Are Millennials Wary of Freedom” by Clay Routledge, the author explains why millennials are so willing to give up their freedom of speech. According to the article, the millennials’ “fear causes [them] to privilege psychological security over liberty” (Routledge). Their fear of getting offended by other people’s speech leads to their judgement being clouded. That is why they would rather have the government regulate what they say than keep their freedom of speech. For this reason, fear is a harmful emotion. The article also mentioned that many millennials “agreed it was acceptable for student groups to use violence to prevent a person from speaking” (Routledge). The millennials’ fear of getting offended by another person’s views is so great that they are willing to encroach on a person’s freedom of speech by