Boogeyman has a new name

Today, We Honor The Overall Man Classic Bill Mead

Reprinted with permission

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

When he made that famous statement more then 50 years ago, the newly-elected President was trying to boost spirits crushed by the Great Depression. Yet his simple words have timeless meaning. Fear is a tenacious parasite of humanity, breeding more evil than hatred, jealousy or any other emotion.

The fear Roosevelt spoke of in 1933 was based on visible grounds. Many people didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. They didn’t need an analyst to tell them what they were scared of. Precisely because of that, the 1930s proved bearable, if bleak. Because everybody could see the enemy they had the courage to set about defeating it.

The kind of fear that causes a great deal more trouble, and hangs around through feast and famine, is the indefinable dread that extends its cold fingers to all of us at all times, no matter what our circumstances.

It would be hard to find anyone who doesn’t at least once in a while sense dangerous things lurking out of sight over the horizon. When we are little we call it the boogeyman. When we grow up we are dismayed to learn the boogeyman has changed his name to anxiety and still waits for us in dark corners.

There is no way to sum up the tragic waste of human talent and energy that can be blamed on anxiety. All of us pay tribute to anxiety in different ways. It makes us afraid to take chances that could lead to success. Because of anxiety we fail to enjoy to the fullest precious moments that ought to exhilarate us. It often makes us mean and insensitive to others. It is probably the most painful and destructive ailment known to mankind. It is without doubt the hardest to cure.

We fight anxiety in countless ways. Some of us try to drown it in liquor or stupefy it with drugs. Others, withdraw, symbolically returning to the safety of the womb. Dictators and degenerates try to dilute their unspoken fears by inflicting fear on others. Good Time Charlie, more often than not, is chased by anxiety while he thinks he is pursuing happiness.

All kinds of religions, cults and mass movements are fueled by anxiety. The human instinct to live in groups springs more from anxiety than from any other motive. In our panic-stricken hearts we seem to think the boogeyman isn’t so likely to find us in a crowd.

Strangely, the fear of death is not a primary source of anxiety, perhaps because it’s a rational fear. On the contrary, many acts of self-sacrifice are symptoms of anxiety, carried out by people who would rather die than endure further terror that has no name.

What’s the answer? If you’ve found it you’re smarter than anyone who has ever lived.

If you don’t know Bill: Bill Mead was the longtime publisher of the Tehachapi News, along with Betty Mead, his wife and partner of more than 50 years. Known for his keen wit, which could be gentle or scathing or somewhere in between but was often self-deprecatory, Bill’s writing won him a wide following among News readers. His column “The Overall Picture” ran in the News for more than 25 years, and in 1999 he published a collection of his columns in a volume entitled The Napa Valley Outhouse War. His book is currently available for sale at the Tehachapi Museum for $10.

Bill had a remarkable mind and because of his intelligence, humor and appearance he was regarded by many as Tehachapi’s Mark Twain. As Betty used to remind him, he was “older than the oldest Model A Ford” and his wealth of life experiences and rural upbringing allowed him to bring a thoroughly American, 20th century perspective to his reflections and musings on the everyday. Bill passed away in 2008 but his writing lives on.

[Publisher’s note: I read Bill’s articles during the 80s and 90s and 20s and I am grateful to share them now with our current readers. I hope you enjoy this touch of nostalgia as much as I do.]