Nice blog Brian!

I'm surprised that you excluded one of the most common and universal of fears, despite its inevitability - the fear of death. Hoffa definitely isn't fearful of death - to the contrary, he welcomes it whenever it may come.

As a user of a "nom de blog" (good one!), I use it because revealing myself would take choice away from others who have made their wish for privacy clear. I've had my user name 'jacked and I've also experienced some individuals who attempted to learn my identity, so I definitely don't regret posting under a pseudonym.

One of the most appealing aspects of internet blogging/posting, to me, is the gathering place of ideas, free of prejudice. We develop our unique personalities and gain perception of others through writing quality and content. That is attractive to me, although I certainly respect those who post under their own names.

I understand the reasons for an individual nom de plume. Personally I do not find a stage name necessary. Generally, on this site, one can expect reasonable interaction with those that remain with one 'handle'(a little CB radio flashback!) Conversely, one needs to avoid those operating noms de guerre;multiple names of war. When I see an unfamiliar name, I review the posting history before hitting the reply button.

@Brian Carlson...You hit it out of the park again.

Yes Lyle.... I like the point about viewing the world hoping to validate our beliefs and idea of reality. Like scientists looking for a particular outcome, we affect the experiment and skew the results. This can happen anywhere on the spectrum of views and beliefs of course... So a key, to my mind, is perpetual inquiry. That's what I try to do here....question and listen to answers. Glad you participate.....

"Are you afraid? Do we have good reason to fear? What should we fear if anything? What prevents you from publicly speaking your mind?"

Should Sheep fear Wolves?

What about the Viper?

Society is ruled by Sociopaths and Psychopaths - the first step would be to eliminate them.

Prisons are not only full of guilty men - but also the innocent. Fear needs to be controlled, but it is also necessary to protect oneself - it is a useful friend.

Do others here agree with Richard about psychopaths and sociopaths ruling society? Certainly it's easy to make a case when we speak about Saddam, or Assad or the junta and it's killers during Argentinas Dirty War. State terrorism is literally a red flag. What about our leaders in general? If a Kissinger gives the green light to state terrorism in Argentina, is he as bad as the people he encourages? Is he a perpetrator...a war criminal? Or if you attack a sovereign nation on false pretexts without a formal declaration of war and a couple hundred thousand civilians die...are you deranged? We are lining up to attack Iran on the same WMD charge in "preventative" campaign that is very likely to roll into a full blown middle east war. Is this an insane act? If so, we should not keep electing people who engage in these practices. We should protest their crimes, pursue prosecution and march for justice. Will we? Or are we afraid of people who we know can arrest anyone and hold them without trial? What are your thoughts?

I can't totally agree with Richard's gross generalization. I certainly appreciate and agree with Brian's original post. On the subject of fear, shame, and other ways we sometimes allow ourselves to be manipulated, many volumes have been written. I believe its in our genes - like within the wolf pack or mountain gorilla family. We must behave in certain pack ways in order to survive. Otherwise our perceived or actual enemies may do us in. The alphas and silverbacks get the final vote. But can there be another way, as we peer over the brink of our mutual destruction at this time in our relatively short history? Will earth allow us to get along without subjugating? Only time will tell. For one, I'm trying to follow the likes of Jesus, Lao Tsu, Gandhi and others who took the risk of positions that were more expansive and tolerant but personally dangerous. I don't know how all of this will play out, frankly...

What is the word for someone who fears talking about himself in the first person?

Brian...excellent article. Many people give up expressing themselves because they know it will be like banging your head on a brick wall. Some people are so entrenched in their thinking that they are unable to have the ability to look at the other side of an argument objectively, to see if there is any wisdom, at all, in it. These poor, simple souls limit their lives/politics in huge ways that they will never understand. They become one- dimensional intellectual cripples. Who knows from where or who the next exciting idea will come? It could be from a liberal or a conservative. If your political views are stuck like a broken record, you will miss out.

Lyle, Very well put and much more specific to the dynamics involved. Thanks.

Dave... Good question. I don't know the answer. I appreciate the main thought you send as well. So much of the discussion on the street is a parroting of yesterday's attack ad spin. The attack ads suggest, ignite and fan fears in the type of people who are content to let others do their thinking or to those trusting souls who never question the real motivations of rumor fabricators and mongers, taking them instead at their expressed intentions. Also as Lyle points out, we look for information or points of view that confirm "our" ideas about reality. Unfortunately, if our minds have already hardened, taking in new ideas to add to the old is like trying to add some more fresh concrete to a preexisting structure. It just won't stick well.

I fear an attack of diarrhea while on a road trip through long stretches of sparsely populated territory, or in the midst of freeway congestion. Other than that, I can handle pretty much anything. Got one for that?

Bren, Not trying to get on your case... It's a question. I am trying to understand this new form of community interaction and just look for analogies. Graffiti can be effective... Reportedly the insides of the blocks forming Egyptian tombs have jokes about the Pharaoh, chiseled in by workers.

I have a fear that people will spend way too much time blogging and less time in the real world.

I also have a fear that the current chick I'm banging isn't over 18, even though she swears she is. We just take their word for it?

Rename the blog "phobophobia, the way to go".

One winter a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold. He had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom. The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its natural instincts, bit its benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal wound. "Oh," cried the Farmer with his last breath, "I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel."

That's a nice tale and like most, has some sensible application. I think the challenge with tales and maxims is we often collect those that reinforce what we decided to do prior in any case. The same may be said of Bible verses, sutras and surrahs. We know that we need to be compassionate and that we need compassion, or have needed it.

As my son often tells his father when they are working on a project together "you are over-thinking it".

This is what professors do.

Don't forget hoplophobia. Lot's of hoplophobics around, I have been told.