Disappointment

Of FDR's Four Freedoms, the one that is most problematic today is the Freedom from Fear.

There cannot be Liberty when a people is enmeshed in the grip of fear.

When I meet someone older than myself, I ask them if the current levels of fear that pervade our national psyche are at an all-time high. Without exception, I am told that these are the darkest times in modern memory.

There are a number of everyday fears that psychologists speak of. They include Fear of Boredom, Fear of Failure, Fear of Abandonment, and Fear of Humiliation. For much of our lifetime, we were able to subdue the most dreaded nightmare of all — Fear of Annihilation. Since 9/11, that one has returned front and center to the American Psyche.

But there is another fear that seems more ubiquitous, more all-encompassing.

And that is Fear of Disappointment.

If there is one dread that never fails to show up, it's Fear of Disappointment.

No need to make an appointment. Fear of Disappointment is always there, like it or not.