How a culture of fear is impossible to escape in today’s modern world
Ever since the media started broadcasting stories about ISIS I have found myself being very aware of the universal culture of fear. It seems these days that it is almost impossible for me to escape the notion that we should always be aware that a terrorist attack could potentially happen at any time and at any location. I believe that just over the past three years my culture of fear has been heightened due to emphasis that social media has put on terrorist attacks. My first memory of being concerned about fear was in my grade ten social studies class where our teacher played us a news report detailing an ISIS recruitment video shortly after the Charlie Hebdo incident in Paris, France. This was my initial exposure to what it was like to experience fear from an issue that was geographically very distant.
Becoming increasingly aware of the continuous terrorism that takes place around the world has made me more paranoid than I realistically should be. The fear of terrorism is globally very prominent right now and in the novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist we can see just how much racial stereotyping takes place in the Western World. No matter where you go discussion about terrorism is a common theme. Before boarding a flight, watching a big concert or going to a tourist attraction that attracts large crowds I find myself thinking “this would be a perfect place for a terrorist attack”. Having knowledge about terrorism has almost been a curse in my case because it is something that I know is very unlikely to affect me but it still gives me anxiety. Culture of fear is culturally constructed and is made out to be worse than it actually needs to be. Society has put pressure on us to constantly be alert about the cautions of terrorism, especially with Donald Trump winning the presidential election and adding emphasis on how Muslims are an issue in America and may potentially be banned from entering the United States.
As a Western culture we are so addicted to instant gratification and drama through the news media and constantly receive news updates through social media, phones etc that it is giving many people a distorted view and distrust of the world and our surroundings which is totally unfounded. The culture of fear is constructed from stereotypes and is limiting and affecting more innocent muslims than ever and needs to be changed.