The phenomenon of misplaced fear in American culture is not uncommon, asserts Sociologist Barry Glassner, author of The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid Of The Wrong Things. From overblown crime statistics to exaggerated germ scares to plane wrecks, a wide array of groups – including business, advocacy organizations, religious sects, and political parties – benefit and profit from promoting fear. Glassner’s book, at its essence, raises important questions about how misbegotten fears find their way into the public psyche through a process driven by power and money (as cited in de Boer, 2002).
     In post-911 America, we live in a culture of fear; people in power use scar tactics to intimidate citizens into an over-reliance on government officials, law enforcement agencies, and corporations for their physical and financial securities. One way they accomplish this is by promoting illegitimate fears of increasing crime rates, especially so-called street crimes (as cited in Mancionis, 2015, p. 163). Indeed, Brinkerhoff, Weitz, and Ortega have confirmed that although crime in America has significantly declined since the 1990’s, most Americans have come to believe that crime is more wide-spread than ever (p. 133). This belief in a higher prevalence of street crime has been perpetuated, in part, by law enforcement reality T.V. shows (as cited in Mancionis, 2015, p. 169). Thus, television is employed as a propaganda mechanism to persuade people in our society to fear one another, and to depend on the government sanctioned intervention for their wellbeing.
     According to Lauren de Boer, author of Beyond a Culture of Fear, scar-mongering is profitable for people in power, but is toxic to the minds of our citizens (de Boer, 2002). “It’s a campaign of fear and consumption…” said rock star, Marylyn Manson, in Michael Moore’s film, Bowling for Columbine, “…keep people afraid and they’ll consume” (as cited in de Boer, 2002). De Boer praised Moore’s file as a “…gutsy, often disturbing probe into the absurd cycle of fear prevalent in American culture today” (as cited in de Boer, 2002). It is no coincidence, claims de Boer, that our society, driven by exaggerated fear is griped by”…addictive over -consumption”(as cited in de Boer, 2002). But although this institutionalized insecurity is initially good for business, it is bad social policy; for despair that is pacified by superfluous consumerism is a latent public neurosis that eventually erodes civic solidarity (as cited in de
Boer, 2002). Therefore, the impulsive consumption of commodities to quell the fear of crime, itself, is a social problem!
     But this hysteria of despair, and the obsessive-compulsive behaviors it promotes holds our minds captive only because we allow it. We can choose to free our minds from the mass-media’s fear-promoting-hyperbole, and embody a new consciousness of peaceful empowerment. To accomplish this, we might first look for previous examples of how a collective mentality of people and diplomacy prevailed over fear-driven civil unrest, such as Gandhi’s historic salt march which ultimately lead to India’s liberation from British rule. In his book, The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of The Founders, philosopher, Jacob Needleman tells the story of an Iroquois creation myth in which The Creator sends “The Great Peacemaker” to teach the fragmented Iroquois nation how to defeat fear and inter-tribal conflict with the harmonizing power of peace (as cited in de Boer, 2002). Needleman states that the Iroquois eventually accept The Great Peacemakers message; for in it they “…glimpse something infinitely more honorable that war…” (as cited in de Boer, 2002). Thus, through diplomacy, the Iroquois war chiefs realized that true power is expressed through co-operation rather than competition, and that this power is actualized through truth rather than deceit. For evil in Native American thought is jot the anti-thesis of good; it is, instead, an ignorance of what good really consists of. de Boer mirrors this sentiment by stating that evil reflects “…the human propensity to defeat goodness by giving into despair” (as cited in de Boer, 2002). Therefore, we, the common people, must turn our minds away from the deceitful message of fear promoted through mass-media, and boldly accept our responsibility as agents of peace; only then will our society exemplify what is infinitely more noble, and powerful, than warfare!

References
Brinkerhoff, D.B., Weitz, R., and Ortega, S.T., (2014). Essentials of Sociology, Belmont Ca. USA.
Wadesworth-Cengage Learning.
De Boer, L., (2002). Beyond a Culture of Fear, website: https://www.earthlight.org/2002/essay
47-deBoer. Html.
Macionis, J.J., (2015). Social Problems, Boston Ma. USA. Pearson.
 

                  Cleaning the bathroom can be faster and easier while maintaining higher standards in workmanship if the right method is employed. The first consideration in the employment of this method is to make sure all cleaning supplies and equipment are ready in advance. Next to consider, is to follow a logical sequence of procedures, while applying well defined techniques for performing the work during each phase of the process. Last, but not least, is the removal of all supplies and equipment, leaving the area in a neat and orderly fashion. My previous experience in using this method has proven its superior effectiveness quite well.
                Your first step in performing this process, will be to assemble in advance, all the supplies needed in preparation for this job. These will include: a cleaning caddy with two separate compartments, three cleaning rags, one spray bottle filled with disinfectant spray cleaner, a mop bucket filled with floor cleaner and hot water, a clean mop, a broom, and a dustpan. You should leave all these items just outside the bathroom doorway. Next, you will need to double fold each cleaning rag against its length, and once against its width; this will provide eight working sides for each rag. After you have folded them, place your cleaning rags, along with your spray bottles, in one side of your cleaning caddy leaving the other side empty; the empty side is where you’ll be throwing your used cleaning rags during your progress. As a final step of preparation, remove the floor mats and the waste basket from the bathroom and leave them just outside the doorway. Having prepared everything in this way, you may proceed with the cleaning phases of the work in an orderly fashion, unencumbered by obstacles.
               The order in which each phase of the work is performed, and the technique for performing the work, are the most crucial factors to the effectiveness of this method. These phases in order are: spraying and wiping the shower and tub, spraying and wiping the vanity and sink, spraying and wiping the toilet, sweeping the floor, and finally, moping the floor. Before you begin, remember to always hold your spray bottle in one hand only, and your cleaning rag in the other. This will prevent dirt and germs from getting onto your cleaning bottles which in turn, prevents unseen cross-pollination of germs and debris. The proper direction to wipe is,  downward, from top to bottom, and forward, from back to front upon each section that you are wiping; this conserves your motions and prevents “back-wiping” over already cleaned areas, thereby further mitigating the cross-pollination of germs and dirt. Use only one rag for each phase, and as each surface is wiped, refold your rag, turning the used sides inward and the unused sides outward. When done, throw the dirty rag into the side of your cleaning caddy opposite to where your clean rags and spray bottle are kept, and move on to the next phase. After you have finished all phases of spraying and wiping, place your cleaning caddy outside the doorway, grab the broom, and sweep the entire floor from back to front, scooping up the dirt into the dustpan outside the doorway, and emptying the debris into the waste basket. Next, take your mop, ring it out lightly, and mop the entire floor in a single pass working from back to front. Then, soak your mop in the mop water and ring it out again, this time more vigorously so that it is semi-dry, and mop the floor a second time in the same fashion as before. This will give your floor a post washing rinse, picking up any excess water and dirt, and producing a clean dry finish.
               Finally, with your bathroom all cleaned, you may begin removing all cleaning equipment and supplies. First, you must dump the mop water. If there is no other place to dispose of the mop water other than your freshly cleaned bathroom, then, lift the toilet seat and, slowly and carefully, pour the dirty water into the toilet bowl and flush the toilet. After this, dry mop over that immediate area. Now, put all cleaning supplies and equipment back into their storage areas, and bring the dirty rags and floor mats into the laundry room to be washed. Once you have replaced that floor mats with clean ones, and the waste basket with a new trash bag, your job is complete.
              Taken altogether, the sequence of this method is composed of nine phases from start to finish. These nine phases in order are: preparing the supplies and equipment, removing the floor mats and the waste basket, wiping the shower and tub, wiping the vanity and sink, wiping the toilet, sweeping the floor, moping the floor, disposing of the mop water and removal of supplies and equipment, and finally, replacing the floor mats and the waste basket. Due to both the top to bottom/back to front wiping procedure, and the refolding rag technique used in this method, there is neither a cross-pollination of germs nor repeat traffic on any areas being cleaned during the entire process. Thus, you will save time and energy while yielding and higher level of cleanliness; and you can devote this extra time and energy to more important aspects of your recovery!