Fear is Not America

There’s a David Bowie song called “This is Not America” – a wonderful tune about disillusionment in the American dream, and where that led in the tale of The Falcon and the Snowman. The lyrics are intriguing, multi-dimensional, and poetic.

When I hear the tune in my head now and think of the financial hysteria, the paranoia over Obama’s victory, what the next four years portend, and the usual hate groups at both ends of the political spectrum frothing I change the lyrics. Now I hear “Fear is not America”.

Things change, and change again, tides come in and they recede. America endures and fear is not the heart and soul of us so it’s past time to put that aside.

Every pundit spelling doom, every talking head telling you there’s no tomorrow, every fool populist should be ignored. Hysteria means that extreme measures are called for, and none really are. In every recession and depression that America has ever had 80% of value has been recovered in 9 months or less. Worried about your property value? This is the US, there’s no place better to live in all the world, I’m not worried. Worried about your job? There are others out there, and there will be new ones to boot.

This is America, where fear neither reigns nor lasts, this is America where we change, and change again. We are in a bright and bold new century, a new badass millenium with wondrous things to come; so fear not and instead sing along with me: Fear is not America…