Fear is the Mind-Killer, but It Doesn’t Have to Control Us

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” – The Litany Against Fear from Dune by Frank Herbert

I am afraid. I worry about many things. As the legal guardian of our four-year-old grandson, Asher, I fear he might lose his government health insurance if Congress and President Trump gut Medicaid. I wonder what will happen to Social Security and Medicare—programs my wife and I depend on. The state of the economy frightens me as tariffs and other forces introduce chaos into the system. I won’t even start talking about foreign affairs; this essay would be far too long if I did.

I am certain I am not the only American anxious about the present, much less the future. If the polls are at all accurate, millions of others share my concerns. Many live in far more desperate conditions than I do. The changes ahead could pose existential threats for a lot of people.

So, what do we do?

The Serenity Prayer states:

“God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.”

There is wisdom in that prayer, whether or not one believes in God. Some things in life I cannot change, and I must roll with them. Other things—whether in my personal life or my community—are within my power to influence. Fear itself is not inherently bad. The key is not allowing fear to paralyze me. That is why Frank Herbert describes fear as “the mind-killer.” It is a universal emotion, a necessary warning that danger exists. But I have a choice in how I respond to it.

I know a brave young man who climbs tall buildings nearly every day to weld structural steel. People tell me he is fearless. That is incorrect. He is often frightened, as he should be—his work is dangerous. However, he allows the fear to pass over him and through him, as the Litany says. His fear forces him to be careful. He exercises caution, but he still gets the job done. He completes the mission.

We are surrounded by voices telling us to be afraid. Social media fuels this. Fear sells. Politicians know it, and the worst of them manipulate us through our anxieties. It is rare for someone in politics to inspire confidence. Most prefer to prey on our fears.

Am I saying everything will be okay? I tell Asher that, but I am not saying it in this article. The dangers we face are real. Some bad things can and will happen.

So, once again, what do we do?

We need to trust in ourselves. We need to trust others. That means taking risks. We may not be required to climb 44 stories to work on a high-rise, but we must acknowledge our fears and then act in spite of them.

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Frank (Francis) Pauc is a graduate of West Point, Class of 1980. He completed the Military Intelligence Basic Course at Fort Huachuca and then went to Flight School at Fort Rucker. Frank was stationed with the 3rd Armor Division in West Germany at Fliegerhorst Airfield from December 1981 to January 1985. He flew Hueys and Black Hawks and was next assigned to the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, CA. He got the hell out of the Army in August 1986.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.