“Fear’s
a powerful thing
It
can turn your heart black, you can trust
It’ll
take your God-filled soul
Fill
it with devils and dust.” —Singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, “Devils and Dust,” from his CD of the same name (2005)
Fifteen years ago this week, Springsteen’s Devils and Dust CD was released. It was
less anthemic than The Rising from
three years before, more filled with quiet, unmistakable rage against the Iraq
War.
At the time, the full dimensions of what would be a
disastrous conflict had not yet come fully into view. But now, it is clear that
fear did indeed distort American policy abroad. I am afraid that today, fear is
once again clouding the vision of many citizens of this country—about their
fellow men, even about the nature of truth itself.
Even aside from a death toll that has already
surpassed American casualties over 12 years in Vietnam (an even more
misbegotten military misadventure than the Iraq War), the coronavirus has brought us to a more
dangerous pass than The Boss could ever have imagined 15 years ago. We are miles away from FDR’s confident claim that “the
only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
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