Everyone is afraid. White people in particular are afraid of every kind of ethnicity, particular black, Hispanic and, these days, Middle Eastern. And the fear is baseless. Despite what you might see on television, black people are just like you. I can walk down Normandie Avenue just like Michael Moore did, and not hear a single gunshot or see a single angry "gang member." Oh, by the way, I'm a white male. Hell, when I make even a small effort to just fit in, to see those around me as people and not as black, Hispanic, Asian or whatever, those people seem to appreciate it. I suspect sometimes that it is because I'm a white man that they do so, that such behavior is relatively rare.

Remember: The next time you see a person with a skin color different from yours, from a different country or with a different accent, bear in mind that they are just like you are. There is nothing to fear, no matter what Rupert Murdoch might want you to believe! Murdoch wants to make money and that is all he cares about. You and I and the guy on the street corner are just trying to live our lives. If we put our fear away and just remember that there is no reason at all to be afraid, we'll be happier and the Murdochs of the world will be furious.

A fearful populace is a compliant populace. I think the events of the last eighteen months has proven that well enough. It is time we stopped being afraid of our own shadows. A person who is too afraid to take a risk is a person who has no life.

Michael Moore is right. It is our fear that makes us a violent people, it is our fear that has robbed us of many rights we are accustomed to taking for granted and it is our fear that has caused the horror in Iraq right now. Tell me, tell me, why should we be afraid? Because the television tells us to be afraid? Are you an idiot, who can't think for himself, or do you have a mind of your own? Do you believe what anyone tells you, or do you decide for yourself? So why do you allow someone else to tell you that you should be afraid?