Everyone is a punk...on the inside.

fear: I believe, at heart, most individuals are cowards. I do not know if this fear is inherent, or taught to us an early age. As we are growing up, we are taught to fear before we are taught to confront and deal. Our parents do this for they feel this is the best way for them to protect us from the world, a fear that will be in place and guide our actions even when we are not in their immediate realm of influence. A fear that will be with us as we grow out of adolescence into adulthood, and a fear that we will pass on to our children. However, at some point we are taught courage; however this is a harder sell, a more difficult concept to grasp and apply to our lives. Maybe this is because we are sold the benefits of fear first. Bravery and courage are highly touted concepts in our society, especially for men. These two concepts define us, and how we are judged as men. Our willingness to never back down from a challenge, to defend our manhood at all costs, these concepts are more precious than gold. The fragile male ego is made so through the foundation of fear that it is built upon. The fear of being viewed as less of a man in the eyes of both men and women alike has driven the most timid of souls to the most extreme of actions. Homicides have occurred as a result of this fear, along with the countless young lives committed to a life lived in penal institutions across the country. All because we are afraid. We try to temper the fear through self-medication with noxious products such and alcohol and drugs. Young people drink, in part, to assuage the fears of stepping into adolescence and adulthood. To first approach a person of the opposite sex can at first be a daunting task, however made all the easier with the consumption of alcohol. Anger also becomes a method of pacifying the fear. People embrace anger like it’s the last emotion they will ever feel, not because they are truly that upset, but that it keeps the fear at bay. My point: we need not to fear the world around us, along with it, its bedfellow anger, and unchecked aggression leads to destruction. Need an example? Just open your eyes.