Suddenly, you find yourself in a very intense situation – this could be life or death. Your heart begins to raceas the adrenaline starts pumping. Thousands of thoughts are streaming through your head and you don’t know what to do. A cold sweat begins to break on your forehead and… this could be the end, there are no more empty tables at the Cougareat and you’re going to have to sit by someone you don’t know. Sound familiar? Okay, maybe it’s not that serious in your case, but everyone, to some degree, has anxiety or even fear in certain social settings.
How about this one:
You are walking to class and there aren’t many people around, just the one person that happens to be heading the opposite direction as you. They’re coming right towards you. Clearly there won’t be any kind of a collision, even if there was it wouldn’t be fatal. Yet you feel more tense the closer you get. Looking away you brace yourself for… who knows what… and… nothing. What a relief you were able to dodge any kind of interaction with them.
Or:
Same scenario, but you feel a little daring. You actually look at the person that is coming towards you – Quick look away!!! You just made eye contact!!!... Whew! That was a close one.
Why does this matter? It’s not like it’s the end of the world because we avoid people we don’t know.
True. But it does prevent unity. Overcoming social fears is just plain good for society for that reason and not overcoming them, therefore, hinders our progress as a whole.
Not just good for him, though. If it weren’t for Enoch’s social courage, becoming a “wild man,” then the people never would have been called Zion, and never would have been lifted up.
Is your inability to look a stranger in the eye and smile as you pass by keeping us from building Zion?
We are all brothers and sisters and, especially here at BYU, should be able to feel more comfortable around each other and instantly become friends, more or less, right?
You are walking to class and there aren’t many people around, just the one person that happens to be heading the opposite direction as you. They’re coming right towards you. Clearly there won’t be any kind of a collision, even if there was it wouldn’t be fatal. Yet you feel more tense the closer you get. Looking away you brace yourself for… who knows what… and… nothing. What a relief you were able to dodge any kind of interaction with them.
Or:
Same scenario, but you feel a little daring. You actually look at the person that is coming towards you – Quick look away!!! You just made eye contact!!!... Whew! That was a close one.
Why does this matter? It’s not like it’s the end of the world because we avoid people we don’t know.
True. But it does prevent unity. Overcoming social fears is just plain good for society for that reason and not overcoming them, therefore, hinders our progress as a whole.
For example, Enoch was a very successful prophet that achieved the unachievable. He helped a whole city be lifted up into heaven. How? “Because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness,” (Moses 7:18).
Being of one heart and one mind – having unity – is key to a society’s success. After all, Enoch’s city was the most successful society in history.
The unity of this people began with the setting aside of fear. When the Lord called Enoch, his response was I “am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech.” (Moses 6:31). Like us, he was unable to face people confidently. Well, later on, when speaking of Enoch the people said, “a wild man hath come among us,” (Moses 6:38). Enoch got over his fear, good for him.
Not just good for him, though. If it weren’t for Enoch’s social courage, becoming a “wild man,” then the people never would have been called Zion, and never would have been lifted up.
Is your inability to look a stranger in the eye and smile as you pass by keeping us from building Zion?
We are all brothers and sisters and, especially here at BYU, should be able to feel more comfortable around each other and instantly become friends, more or less, right?
This was a very original take on the idea of "fear". Most people view fear as something out of a horror film, but we fail to realize we are all subject to social fears every day. I could really relate to this argument; as a BYU student I find it hard to step out of my comfort zone when approaching a stranger even though I am fully aware nothing particularly "scary" would happen if I decided to talk to a new person. I agree that if people did not have as much social anxiety and reached out to new people, we would be more united as sons and daughters in Zion. However, realizing your social anxieties and weaknesses and overcoming them will help us all grow and develop as people.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that you thought my post was original, that's really what I was going for. I felt like I had a pretty good idea that fit the topic of fear, an idea that most people wouldn't think of. More than anything, though, it's good to see that someone can relate to this.
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ReplyDeleteI like how you demonstrated how the fear of getting to know someone is slowing society's gospel progression. Your scenario's are rather engaging and bring the reader in to see what you are talking about which is well done. If you wanted to you could go on and compare the differences of nature of the people of Enoch's time and today. That way we could see perhaps why we are so scared of strangers now, and why they were able to become so united. Do you think you will use other examples in your issues paper such as Amish cites or the book Utopia?
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that you think my scenarios work. I was afraid they might be a little too exaggerated. I liked them, though, so I included them anyway. As far as comparing people of our day with those of Enoch's day, that would definitely help me tie this post to my thesis a little better. I hadn't really thought much about what approach I would take for the issues paper so I appreciate the ideas I will look into using Amish cities and Utopia.
DeleteI love how you back up this statement of belief with a call to action. We do, as people, have a deathly fear of each other, and we don't even know why. I found this very amusing, and quite a fun read. I like how you smoothly transition from one idea to the next, and your word choice helps move us along easily. At times I felt the vocabulary might be a bit too informal for a school assignment, but if you used it to add flavor and personality, then forget I said anything. You have good pathos and logos, and I like how you bring in the scriptures for ethos.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, I was hoping to accomplish everything that you said you liked about my post. I wanted it to be recognized as a call to action to help people to rethink how they interact with others. I was also really hoping for it to be something fun to read so I'm glad that I succeeded. The informal vocabulary was part of my attempt to just make this an enjoyable read.
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