The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself

In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inaugural address during the Great Depression, he shared the idea that fear was a paralyzing force that would hold back the ability of the country to move forward; and, that fear needed to be conquered. 

Today there are unprecedented levels of fear in boardrooms and the communications industry. This is manifest in the supine response to President Trump’s assault on government institutions, American values, former allies and targeted groups. 

Trump, Musk and their acolytes are breaking things by design, separation of powers and the constitution be damned. They know this, and as Trump has admitted, a recession is a potential cost for their remaking of America. 

The slash and burn, shock and awe approach to cost cutting, culture change and re-making of history in which January 6 was a day of love, where President Zelensky is a dictator and our friends and neighbors are our enemies, was entirely predictable.  

While concerns about kitchen table economics may have been the driver of the presidential election, what we are seeing with crystal clarity is that lowering prices for Americans, protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and being a unifying president are not priorities. 

In a very real Machiavellian sense, the ends are the justification of the means. The logic that clear cutting is what America needs to reduce the deficit, purge fraud and waste, and create a fairer tax system in which the few who pay the most do not have to carry the rest. In this context, upending the status quo is not only justified, but necessary for the economy not to go off the rails.  

The proponents of these arguments clearly believe they are saving America from the scourge of the looney left, which today includes anyone with the temerity to have a different opinion. 

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” should resonate as strongly today as it did in 1933, because the awe response to the shock of the last two months has largely been sotto voce. As F.D.R. framed it, “unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance”. 

The bully in the pulpit is winning the first rounds of a four-year boxing match. With its willingness to use big gloves in the Trump corner, the opposition remains fearful of getting in the ring despite what is at stake. 

It is only when you stand up to a bully, as Mexico, Canada and others have done, that they take pause. The court of public opinion does matter – at least to some extent - to this President, so making noise despite the risk of a name calling response does get attention. To be silent is to implicitly encourage what is taking place. It is enablement and ultimately complicity.   

Sticking to values – traditional American values based on the Constitution and its amendments – provides a foundation for citizens and corporations to stand up for what is right, against might. Demanding the truth from representatives and holding them accountable for it, is our responsibility. We are a nation of laws. If laws are not respected, we have no nation.  

While the economic argument for keeping corporate heads down may have been compelling during the first weeks of the new administration, the economic argument for pushing back has never been clearer with chaos driving volatility and the risk of recession. We are seeing CEOs and lobbyists start to make their voices heard. 

The moral argument for pushing back is even stronger with laws not being followed, the rights of Americans to free speech, due process and opportunity not being respected. I believe, the failure to do what is right will be remembered by the still largely-silent majority of voters and consumers. 

Communicators and the companies we represent have a clear choice to make. Are we willing to be browbeaten into silence at the cost of our values and the risk to our businesses of economic chaos? 

Or, will we make the choice to call Washington’s bluff and tell the truth: The cost of lost markets, risk of recession, and the reputational risk of failing to stand up for our values is inconsistent with our long-term interests.  

There are risks. But the risk of doing nothing is growing by the day.