“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
— Luke 2:10 (KJV)
Fear Not
The watchmen lace the evergreens,
bright lights blink red and white.
The winter bites with sharp teeth,
as footsteps surround the night.
Peace cracks like ice beneath the boots.
"Fear not,"
the angels sing.
The criers sort us by the fire,
give fear a foreign name.
They close the doors so we choose sides,
decide who stays and who must go.
Cold claims the child we force out.
Fear not.
The angels sing.
The innkeepers shake tired heads.
The road is long, the hour late.
They say the crying never stops,
so hush the child and bar the gate.
Wrap up your heart and call it rest.
"Fear not,"
the angels sing.
When every voice grows certain,
when fear fills every quiet space,
when nothing new is left to say,
"Fear not,"
the angels sing.
The merchants pour their candle calm,
a cup to warm our trembling hands.
They promise sleep before the dawn.
No fields, no stars, no borrowed lambs,
no planning for the world to end.
"Fear not,"
the angels sing.
My Call to Fear Not
We are drifting toward real harm because rage has become profitable.
Research from Stanford University and MIT shows that fear and outrage spread faster than truth online. Platforms reward it. Marketers exploit it. Audiences return because anger is addictive.
But this economy of outrage isn’t neutral. Data from the Pew Research Center and reporting by Reuters show how these incentives deepen division and anxiety while generating profit.
This path is not inevitable.
If engagement trains algorithms, then we can retrain them. We can stop amplifying fear and choose what steadies instead.
Kindness and joy don’t trend because they exploit no one.
But isn’t experiencing joy through kindness what makes life worth living?
Fear not.
