I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

From Franklin Roosevelt’s first inaugural address, March 4, 1933

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt, also known as FUD, are the driving forces in American politics today. They are pervasive in the advertising-revenue driven “news.” They can be found in the recent panic to “do something” about the current economic chaos. They can be heard in the last several years’ constant drone about “terrorism” and the need to quell civil liberties in the pursuit of a mystical idea of security through control.

FUD are a horrible basis for doing anything.

Don’t let fear run your life. Seek out truth. Use logic. Find the facts, and don’t listen to the Chicken Littles of today who are running around shouting, “The sky is falling!”

Don’t trust the fear mongers, the doubt peddlers, and those who spread division.

Politics never changed the world. Neither has fundamentalism or zealotry (religious or otherwise). However, truth sets people free. Yes, facts matter. Grace, mercy and forgiveness change societies and individuals. Freedom, a lessening of the reins, yields as its reward the gratitude of the majority and order through voluntary cooperation toward a mutually beneficial objective.