Minding the Middle: The Path to Courageous Pragmatism – Part 1

…fear, itself

I grew up in Iowa, blocks from the Mississippi River. It wasn’t uncommon when I was growing up, to have someone come by our house looking to sell fish that they caught from the river. We ate A LOT of catfish. My mother, who was a phlebotomist, often called me into the kitchen while she prepared the fish for dinner. She’d walk me through its internal organs, explaining how they all functioned together. I remember being so captivated by the similarities between fish and human biology. Those kitchen conversations were no doubt the beginning of my interest in systems theory.

As someone committed to advancing, responding to and advocating for transformation of various types of systems over the last 20 years, I’ve given considerable thought to the role of fear–particularly how to move beyond it. After all, change can be scary for a multitude of reasons. And, part of what strikes me about the topic of fear is that people rarely name it, even though it’s a common unnamed actor in times of change.

Researchers have well documented how fear affects people biologically. Our hearts begin to race, preparing our bodies for action. Our visual field is constricted and many of our internal organs– such as our brains, grow more inhibited in their function. The combined result of these and other responses is a more narrow field of focus; some might call it myopic. Similar to the unlikely parallels between fish and human biology, I believe there are parallels between human biology and the body politic.

In change efforts, I observe the manifestation of fear in a number of ways–so much so that I started noting patterns in behavior. The identification of patterns of behavior provides an anchor for exploration when breakdowns occur and helps me extend grace to others, as well as myself. The list below represents the most common presentations, but is not exhaustive by any means. I offer these up to invite reflection as well as inspire curiosity.

Minimization through analysis
This looks like the person who seems to have an endless supply of “what if” scenarios and questions. No answer is ever good enough to allay their concerns, so the collective is eventually forced to move on without them or risk losing momentum. The challenge in this instance is that this tactic is often used by people atop or closely aligned with a power structure affected in some way by the change afoot. The fear here is the loss of privilege if there is too much disruption to the status quo.

Perfectionism
This can show up in the form of triple and quadruple checking one’s work or several safeguards to avoid missteps. I see this most often among people with marginalized identities. Without transparent communication or clear processes, this manifestation of fear can lead to delays in progress and may signal distrust of colleagues. However, fear of scrutiny or criticism regularly lies below the surface of perfectionism.

Disengagement
A person who has disengaged may come to meetings, but contribute very little to the discourse. When called upon to offer thoughts for a group’s consideration, they may struggle to offer anything substantive. I find fear presented as disengagement most commonly among people outside of formal leadership roles. While disengagement often looks like disinterest, it can actually be fear of absent agency manifested in a “freeze” response.

Fence riding
A person who wants or even demands to be “at the table,” but never fully buys into the work of a collective may actually be afraid. This manifestation of fear may actually take a bit more time to recognize because it can show up as indifference. In this case, a person may fear being seen as selling out if an effort doesn’t go far enough. I see this most often among people whose identity is closely tied to their activism.

Polarization
This is where the parallel between humans' biological response to fear and collective behavior is most salient. Polarization is often the most challenging manifestation of fear to mitigate because it shows up in the form of extreme positions, false choices and dogma. Moving beyond polarization requires time and trust to unpack the personal experiences and views that fuel extreme views. I have found polarization to be most common among people who fear the loss of their voice or control.

For all of the national discourse on the matter of polarization, I believe fear to be an under appreciated driving force. In Minnesota, the recent assassination of a legislative leader and her husband, along with the attempted assassination of another elected official and his wife, have placed the role of fear in formerly civil civic spaces front and center for me and many others. I believe better is possible, but only if we take deliberate steps to cultivate and preserve a middle ground.