what does the quote "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" mean?

Answer 1

Fear can render a person useless. If we are afraid, we tend to freeze up and hide from the situation we are in, so consequently the situation gets worse.

Answer 2

Allright, first off: FDR is a copycat. It was a man named Sun Tsu who is credited for writing these words in his work: "the art of war" (a must read for anybody who studies the mechanics of man and the world). He was not the person who originally thought of the principle behind it though. That person has been lost in time I guess. There are several religions who use the same principle, and in psychology this phrase is well known.

The meaning of the phrase is somewhat difficlut to see without a lot of life-experience. It is a bout what motivates people.
Most people are probably familliar with the term selffulfilling prophecy. This is called the pygmalion effect in psychology.

It deals with the fact that by assuming something you change what that something is to you and thereby change your response to it, and so on.

An example would work best here I think:

Lets think of a situation 100.000 years ago. A tribe of humans finds a raspberry bush and decides to pick some berries. Then that group of people finds out that there is already another group who wants that berry-bush.
The group that was already present at the bush (lets call them the second group) is afraid they won't have enough berries and tells our group (the first group would be a proper name I think) to find another bush.
The first group gets a bit afraid because of the harsh language and uses some harsh language in return, out of fear of looking weak and perhaps become the victims of violence.
The second group takes these harsh the same way as the first group and decides to pick up a few sticks and stones.
The frist group now really gets scared and responds in kind.
When either of the groups gets too scared of being hurt by a sudden move of the other group that scared group will choose the offensive (no defence like the offence I guess).

This is how fear works. It creates a load of trouble. And the only cause of it is fear. For if our first group simply had hoped for the best and looked foe another bush none of the violence would have happened. If they had hoped for the best and simply asked friendly for some berries (but not too much) chances are they would have been given the berries.

It is sad, but true. The most scared person armes himself first and the most scared person attacks before the other can strike. What other reason then fear is there to attack someone who has not attacked you yet? That person is acting on the things that are going on in his head instead of the things that are going on in the world.

And now we arrive at another psychologic point named projection.
Because fear has made someone think of an attack by another now that person is thinking of attacking that someone. And the more he thinks about attacking the other the more scared he will get of being attacked. He is not afraid of what he does not know, but he is afraid because he knows himself only too well.

p.s. I am using the example of a fight because it makes things very clear to me. These things go on in all layers of our society.

p.p.s If things are not clear to you at this point feel free to ask me. I can explain a good deal of these matters to you I think.

Good luck, Arjen

Answer 3

It's been said that all actions spring from one of two sources... love and fear. Hate crimes spring from fear, for instance... the fear of those who are different.

Fear is generally rooted in "what if"s. If we fear fire, it's because we imagine what might happen if we were caught in a fire and horribly burned, perhaps. The fire itself is not necessarily a concern at all. It's our fear that we have to tackle. So FDR's phrase intones that, reminding us that fears are just that... fears, but not necessarily realities.

Some fear is a good thing, too, of course. It's built-in so we don't think we can jump off cliffs and wrestle tigers with our bare hands... those who try such things often pay the price. People with natural fears tend to stay alive longer, avoiding ridiculous risks.

But without risks, we can be guaranteed only a very ordinary, bland existence. We have to assess our fears and determine which ones are reasonable and which ones need to be overcome. We confront a fear by recognizing it as fear itself, not as the object of a fear (such as fire).

Answer 4

Fear often leads people to reach hasty and very wrong decisions. What President Franklin Roosevelt was saying was that Americans should stay calm and to work from a position of strength. Pearl Harbor was successfully attacked by the Japanese only because America was not expecting an attack there. The attack thus may have caused some to believe that the Japanese had military superiority. Our president was merely reminding people that we were now gearing up to enter the war and that any military advantages the Japanese had would be only temporary. So basically he was reminding people that important decisions need to me made without fear as a main element to the decision making process.

Answer 5

Franklin Roosevelt said this at a time when most Americans were petrified, both of the terrible economic conditions, and of the approaching World War. It was a much scarier time than now, and instead of fear-mongering, as is the style of the current administration, Roosevelt was trying to make people feel more confident so that we could deal bravely with the situation.

Answer 6

FDR used this quote after the attack on Pearl Harbor. People were extremely frightened and knew that we were going to war. He wanted the American people to know that they had nothing to fear except the paralyzing fear that could keep them for fighting back. He was a fantastic speaker and kept the country strong during WW2.

Answer 7

The only thing to fear is fear itself speaks to the idea that fear can paralyze one from progress, from moving forward, from succeeding, despite any challenges. We need not fear tomorrow or the next day. The only thing we should be afraid of (and thus rebuff) is that fear which keeps us mired in self-pity and loss. If we can overcome that, we can move forward.

Answer 8

It's a bullshi* quote. When you have AK-47 gunfire coming at you from three directions and you can't spot the Bastar* firing at you and your pinned down until your buddies with the 249's and grenade launchers take them out you really have something to fear.

Answer 9

Well if we all get so ignorant about fear then we act stupid and get all kinds of wigged out emotions panicking about fear and the what if's so.. .when martin luther king said it he meant dotn give into fear aboujt prejudice and all what ppl say etc as fear itself can bring a multitude of bad happenings to make ppl fear as s-- happens then.. so fear.. is a state of mind and only act on if its in ur face and dont worry

Answer 10

Franklin Delano Roosevelt used this phrase at the beginning of World War II. He wanted to encourage his people to think positively. Worry and fear of the unknown, especially in time of a great war, can cause a person to become neurotic.