Michelle Obama: I'm Tired of Being Afraid

When we choose to get involved in any sort of political activism, whether it's a traditional political campaign or an Internet-based civil rights effort such as the neurodiversity movement, there is always some degree of risk. Change is scary, in and of itself. Publicly speaking out and taking a stand for one's beliefs and values, for a vision of hope and possibility, can be a lot scarier. Many people are going to react negatively because they feel threatened by change. Some of them are going to be quite hostile at first. Occasionally, there will be a bigot who has so little decency that he resorts to nasty underhanded tactics such as insulting the children of his political adversaries. Threats of violence and real-life harassment lurk in the background, breeding a climate of fear.

But we can't give in to that fear. Yes, it may seem easier not to get involved, not to take the risk, not to disrupt our lives and our families—to stay in our comfort zones, our secure little bubbles of everyday life. Yes, it may seem easier to go along with the conventional wisdom of the day, to stay quiet when we don't agree with the popular stereotypes, to keep our heads down and avoid confrontation. When we go through every day of our lives in an environment of fear, oppression, and intimidation, it can be hard for many of us even to recognize that there are other possibilities—that we don't have to live like this.

Not long ago, Michelle Obama, in discussing her husband's presidential campaign, talked about why it's important not to make decisions based on fear. Here's an excerpt from her speech:


...Barack and I talked long and hard about this decision. This wasn't an easy decision for us because we've got two beautiful little girls and we have a wonderful life and everything was going fine and there would have been nothing that would have been more disruptive than a decision to run for President of the United States.

And as more people talked to us about it, I mean the question came up again and again, what people were most concerned about I think was—

they were afraid.

It was fear. Fear again, raising its ugly head in one of the most important decisions that we would make. Fear. Fear of everything. Fear that we might lose. Fear that he might get hurt. Fear that this might get ugly. Fear that it would hurt our family. Fear.

But you know the reason why I said “Yes”? Was because I am tired of being afraid!

I am tired of living in a country where every decision that we have made over the last ten years wasn't for something, but it was because people told us we had to fear something. We had to fear people who looked different from us, fear people who believed in things that were different from us; fear of one another right here in our own back yards—I am so tired of fear and I don’t want my girls to live in a country, in a world, based on fear...

...We have a chance to make something real happen; something possible happen; to live beyond our fear.