All of us, man and beast alike, live with some kind of fear that penetrates to the very core. We do not all share the same fear, of course. For some, a fear of germs might be the red flag ever waving about in their mind, and this fear will dictate how life is lived. Those with a fear of germs will modify their lives around the anxiety. Perhaps they will decline public dinners, live in a virtual disinfectant bath, or avoid physical contact with others as they attempt to allay their fear.
A cat may fear the sight of a large bird that hangs in the air without flapping its wings. I recall how one of my cats would circle the house with his flank always in contact with the foundation when such birds were aloft. He knew that proximity to the house protected him, that the raptors could not swoop down and ambush him there. If this cat happened to be in the open and a shadow suddenly crossed over him, he abruptly hunkered down and slinked away.
I, too, have a fear certain.
My fear is that there actually exists some verifiable need for children to suffer…that a reason of some sort might accurately be derived from a careful knit of mathematical formulae or metaphysical structures. I have no proof of such a reason. Only the fear of it.
If but that I might fear raptors instead…
--Mitchell Hegman
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