Fear is a crippling emotion.
When Hannibal attacked Rome, he brought African elephants to accompany his infantry. He hoped the sight of the monsters would spread fear and panic through the Roman legions as well as being an effective fighting animal. He almost succeeded.
Passengers watched a live satellite feed from their seats as the plane circled over southern California, burning off its load of fuel. Actress Taryn Manning, one of the passengers, told the Associated Press: "A lot of the women of course were crying. There was a gentleman across the way who was writing in his journal and crying, and seeing that isn't easy."
Fortunately, the ensuing emergency landing was a success, and all of the passengers survived. One of them, Alexandra Jacobs, made a fascinating observation: "We couldn't believe the irony that we might be watching our own demise on television. That seemed a little bit post-post-modern."1
We experience fear in many ways. There is the emotion that comes from . . .