With their unique pen and their own sensitivity, artists present their vision of the world around us. This week, we are giving carte blanche to Caroline Monnet.
More often than not, we grow up in fear of the unknown, fear of the other. Our parents taught us not to talk to strangers. Our social relationships and culture shape our individual fears. Fear would therefore come from a learning process…
Yet no one wants to live in fear. It occupies the mind and sometimes also interferes in the body. It is accompanied by negative emotions like anxiety, nervousness and self-doubt.
We live in a time when societies are divided and the rise of extremism is fueled by fear, a feeling that is a powerful tool. It is used politically and culturally to manipulate, persuade or deter us. Fear is when people feel that the rights of others are subverting their own rights.
We tell ourselves stories and look for excuses to avoid facing our fears. We go after minorities because we don’t want to take responsibility. And we fear anything that might disturb the comfort of our lives.
Fear drives people to build walls, block borders, deny access to the country and separate families. Fear compels people to follow in line, in order, to do like everyone else. Fear thwarts emancipation. Fear causes racism and discrimination.
Fear can be used to deflect the truth, to give words a charge that goes beyond reality. They say, “It’s for your safety. For the security of the country. »
In some cases, of course, fear is an all too familiar feeling.
We fear that our young people are committing suicide at an astronomical rate in indigenous communities across North America. As women, we fear walking the streets alone at night. We are afraid of forgetting our languages and our traditional knowledge.
We fear forgetting our past and not being able to move on.
I am not nostalgic for the past. From a time when, as aboriginal people, we did not have the right to vote. From a time when we were not invited to the table where decisions are made. From a time when we were not recognized as part of this country. Were we so formidable that we had to be excluded altogether?
The idea that fear helped keep us alive is no longer relevant. It doesn’t keep us alive enough anymore. The world is changing faster and faster, and we are fully aware that it will continue to change faster and faster.
And yet, we do nothing. We continue to consume the Earth. We are building more pipelines on aboriginal lands, and there is still no running water in many aboriginal communities across Canada.
Fear cannot prevent disasters.
Instead of freezing in fear, we could explore possibilities for the future. Recognize that differences make us grow. That if we are surrounded by the same prejudices as ours, the same opinions, the same points of view, we begin to stagnate. That when we know who we are, where we come from and our sense of values, we feel stronger in our identity.
And when we have confidence in our identity, we are less afraid of the other. We can dream of friendships, trust and loyalty to neutralize feelings of loneliness and ignorance.
In an attempt at mass amnesia, I propose to forget the emotion of fear, that unpleasant feeling caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous or threatens us. Today, I choose to forget fear and replace it with confidence, joy, calm and courage.
We have a collective responsibility for our future. Is there anything we can do, all together, to face the future without fear?