The Only Thing to Fear is Fear Itself

We can beat this thing. But we have to stick together. During the Great Depression President Harding took the philosophy that the market would correct itself and took a hands off attitude to the economy. It soon became clear he didn't know what to do when the Great Depression became more severe and in places like Chicago unemployment hit forty percent with a third of the banks failing. People were starving and fear was weaponized in a way that was paralyzing. Enter Franklin Delano Roosevelt who in his inaugural address told the American people, the only thing to fear is fear itself. People listened. This man had polio and could no longer walk and here he was telling people that fear was not to be feared. The world became a little brighter.

So it remains to be seen if Donald Trump will be the next President Harding, helpless before a problem he has no idea how to handle. And of course we dont know if there is an FDR on the way. But his assurance that fear is the only thing to really fear is more relevant than ever. The headlines of the New York Times, CNN, and other newspapers scream black news all day long. Of course people are afraid. China just reported the lowest number of new cases since the outbreak but this is sandwiched under the bleak news of deaths and new cases in the US. Going online now is a bit like a ride into a lurid haunted house where one remains shaken and very afraid.

But the truth is compared to influenza the new virus is still like a cousin who no one is sure of but no one wants to get near. Hope is the opposite of fear. And we need that now. The Doom and Gloom of every latest pundit with a book (yes they are coming out that fast on pandemics) is not helping anyone. I have one for the media, why don't we get off the sensationalism of bad news and switch to what people can do to fight the virus. You know, how to solve the problem instead of describing the sinking of the ship every five seconds. The man who lost his ability to walk in his thirties, knew about fear and how to handle it. His words ring true today. "Rocket Man is the funniest novel since Russo's Straight Man."

Chicago Sun Times


"Rocket Man is a hilarious, well written novel about one man's search for the New American Dream." James Frey, author A Million Little Pieces and Bright Shiny Morning