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Columnist: Scare tactics are for Halloween, not ballot initiatives

By Tyler Francke

Posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009, 2:04 am

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This week’s “Wazzup?” newsletter outlined some upcoming Halloween events and I couldn’t believe it. I knew “Wazzup?” wouldn’t lie to me, but hadn’t Halloween already happened this year?

There had been so many clear indicators the scariest night of the year had come and gone. I had seen some strangely dressed individuals, but on second thought, I couldn’t conclude they were wearing costumes unless “lazy college student” and “wannabe trendsetter” were the hot-ticket items of 2009. I’ve seen on-campus vandalism, but destruction and defacement happen every weekend and are perhaps due to a different kind of influence.

OK, so maybe it hadn’t been Halloween after all. But then why have I felt so afraid?

The University of Maine has been recently beset by outspoken political activists, grim swine flu warnings from administration, sign-toting religious extremists and high-profile guest lectures on the continued threat of terrorism. What one thing ties them all together? The use of scare tactics to persuade and convince. All things considered, it’s no wonder I thought all the spookiness was due to an overzealous celebration of All Hallows’ Eve.

If only that were really the case. The sad reality is that fear mongering — perhaps first widely used in the United States during the Red Scare under former Sen. Joe McCarthy — remains a subtle but powerful weapon in the hands of those who would sway the masses to support their agendas and beliefs.

The use of scare tactics by federal officials has a well-established history in our country, but it seems to be gaining popularity even in local politics, as evidenced by some of the arguments supporting or opposing issues on the Nov. 3 ballot. Whether we’re talking TABOR, school consolidation or same-sex marriage, I enjoy analyzing the merits of each topic. But when either side starts arguing that their opponents’ position would bring factually unsupported but deeply disturbing consequences, I end up hopelessly confused.

This is exactly why fear is so commonly used as a persuasive tool. In addition to being cheap and easy, it is highly effective.

Ironically, by bringing this to light, I may be frightening some readers myself. This is not my intention, nor do I want to encourage cynicism or distrust. The use of fear by the powers that be is something every citizen should be aware of. In the face of such a worrisome trend in politics at all levels, a solution is necessary to get the fear mongering out of our political process.

There is a solution that is both profoundly simple and powerful enough to expose fear-based arguments as the baseless circumventions of authentic debate they truly are: information.

Fear can only convince an uninformed populace. Substantiated facts, observable evidence, multiple sources of objective information, logic and reasoning — these are our tools in the fight against fear. A solid opinion formed on the basis of unbiased data is not formed quickly or easily, but if we choose not to seek out the truth, we will be less swayed by the fear-based arguments of the modern political arena — some of which are so ludicrous they actually do seem more suited to a Halloween ghost story than a legitimate debate.

We face big decisions in the coming months, from the referendum election on Nov. 3 to whether or not to get a swine flu vaccination. As an active citizen fortunate enough to have a functioning brain and a wealth of resources at your fingertips, do your duty to make those decisions informed ones. Look at both sides of the issues and make sure your opinions are based on facts, not fright. If we can all follow the simple guidelines laid out above, we have no reason to be afraid.