ThirstyFish

Fear mongering, the use of fear to influence the opinions and actions of others towards some specific end is as old as civilization itself. But in 20th Century politics and marketing campaigns, it has been turned into an art form, to rule and to sell. Take this recent quote from Vice President Joe Biden: "No law-abiding citizen in the United States of America has any fear that their constitutional rights will be infringed in any way. None. Zero".

How Orwellian is that? No need to fear anything so long as you do what the government says? There's every reason to fear. Is a "law-abiding citizen of the United States" just supposed to stand still while the police - the law - shoots him in the back? Is a "law abiding citizen" simply to ignore the greatest legalized theft in history while the "Department of Justice" gives banks and the financial sector full criminal impunity? Have students and graduates nothing to fear, when they've been robbed off their future by scandalous student loans?

But the cycle of fear comes around. It is the likes of Joe Biden who should fear the citizenry. After all, they know that they are not the "law-abiding citizens" they make themselves out to be. The crimes of the Obama administration, from mass surveillance to drone wars to impunity for large corporations, are pretty well documented. Hope and Change Mr. Biden?