Stupid Proverb - You Have Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself

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The popular proverb You Have Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself tends to make me compile a list of all the other things to fear. Death, illness, dementia, stress, Alzheimer’s, being fired or made redundant, bankruptcy, homelessness, war, famine, nuclear attack, chemical attack, muggings, murder, rape, bereavement, divorce, losing loved ones, losing our pets, people not liking us, why the boss suddenly wants a chat with us in the office, bad news, anything we have a phobia about, nightmares, terrorist and suicide bomber attacks, income tax, fire, government policy, totalitarianism, injustice, shark attacks, false arrest, (or justified arrest if you have committed crimes). Much more besides. There may be irrational fears, such as zombies, clowns, vampires and Daleks, but many fears have some realism. Without fear we might get reckless and how too much bravado, putting ourselves and others at risk. We should certainly keep our fears under control or we would be gibbering wreckage, like the characters Earthworm Jim met on the Planet Of The Easily Frightened People, scared of anything green and anything not green as well. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, while the rest of us get going in the opposite direction. Fear itself is nothing unless there is something to fear. Arthur Chappell