Fear Worn as Prudence

Many of those who never set out on the Way of Power explain their position quite eloquently and convincingly. The motives are varied, but they all boil down to “I’m fine the way I am.”

I do not wish to examine now how truthful are the words about the “good life”; better to note that among those who think this way there are some who truly believe it, and those who have never questioned it and merely repeat an commonly accepted phrase. The individual freedom of each person often is insufficient to free them from mass fears and superstitions, as shown by the crowds’ uncontrollable behavior.

At the same time, it is clear that the Bandar-log logic from The Jungle Book — “It is true because we all think so” — does not apply to everyone. What lies behind such inertia? The cause is clear — fear.

Fear belongs to the category of fundamental human emotions. It is a basic way of perceiving the surrounding world. A person begins to experience fear as soon as they come into the world; fear increases manyfold when a person learns to think and recognizes the contradiction of their existence, which consists in nature endowing man with consciousness while still being part of nature. Fears tend to grow throughout life; when a person thinks they have finally overcome one fear, another soon appears, and they begin to look for other ways and measures against it, and it seems that this seems like life’s purpose.

The most common response to a real or imagined danger is withdrawal from it. Withdrawal is the most direct of all possible defenses. If a situation seems too difficult, a person simply withdraws from it, physically or mentally. The second most common reaction to fear is denial — a refusal to admit that the troubling situation actually exists or that the event provoking anxiety occurred at all. As an extreme form of denial repression may occur, which represents the removal of the frightening event or circumstance from that area of memory to which a person has conscious access into the realm of the unconscious.

In the relationship between a human and Power, repression is most often at work. A person senses that the stronger they become, the greater the number of dangers they will encounter, and so they fear Power and deny its existence. Such defensive mechanisms, of course, help the nervous system cope with the emotional tension that arises, but they do not solve the problem. Since the person does not recognize their fear, they cannot overcome it.

It is well known that when setting out for battle Alexander the Great offered sacrifices to the demon of fear. Hostilius built temples to this deity and posted priests at its altars. Fear paralyzes the will. A hero was considered one who could, by force of will, overcome the feeling of fear within himself.

We argued that fear of Power, although a natural reaction of the human being to quite real dangers, is nevertheless instilled and cultivated by the Parasite of mind. The interaction of fear with other emotions can also greatly influence personality and behavior. In extreme cases fear can even change a person’s life direction or cause death. On the one hand, as long as a person lacks the strength to confront certain entities, those entities cannot affect them either, and thus do not pose a danger. But on the other hand, it is precisely in this situation that a person is deprived of the possibility to choose, of the possibility of entering battle, to win or lose.

A fitting analogy exists between this choice and the lives of domestic and wild animals. On the one hand, the pig in the sty is exposed to far fewer dangers than the boar in the forest. There are no wolves in the sty, it is not so cold in winter, and there is usually enough fodder. But on the other hand the boar in the forest can overcome hardships, can flee a wolf and hunters, can find its herd. And the pig in the sty has only one fate — ending up as pork. Refusal to choose, of making independent decisions, to take risks — these are all ways of renouncing Power.

Thus, in order to achieve autonomy and the uniqueness of their personality, every individual must distance themselves from the masses, without trading away their essential traits. It is fear that obstructs this, a fear that threatens a person when they separate from others, rooted from birth and tied to the fact that a person is part of a community and fear of solitude and isolation. The more a person separates themselves from others, the more they are exposed to uncertainty, misunderstanding and rejection. At times the state of a person within the mass is compared to a twilight state of mind lacking energy and leads to surrender to mystic ecstasy or panic. Self-awareness, reason and intelligence destroy that “harmony” of natural existence which is common to all animals.

Since, throughout a long stretch of human history, humanity existed precisely as the food source for many predators, it is clear that fear of Power belongs to the deepest and most powerful emotions. As a result of millennia of distortions in upbringing and public life, the masses have acquired a biological cruelty and an inability to be free. Few can admit this — there will hardly be many willing to say, “Yes, I am afraid of Power; I prefer to be a fattened hen in a cozy coop.” Most will confidently say, “I am already strong enough; my life contains what I need, and if something is missing it will appear in time.” Yet it is plain that, in essence, these two phrases mean the same thing.

The most effective means of overcoming fear is action. Since fear is a passive form of behavior, action suppresses it. Therefore it is so important for one who seeks Power to take action, to take the first step, even if the step is imperfect; that step will already help break fear’s chains, to stop being a victim and to become a hunter. A hunter of Power.