The last few weeks have not shown us the best side of Winchendon. It seems to be a sign of these times that a lot of rocks are being overturned and a lot of unpleasantness being exposed to harsh light. But it's never fun to see this happening in your own town.

In his 1933 inaugural address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." We've been seeing a lot of fear in Winchendon. Anger is nothing but fear; if you're angry, you're really afraid and hiding from it. Animals react to fear by trying to look bigger, showing their teeth, hissing and snarling, being aggressive. Americans show their fear with anger, big guns, abusive language and hyperbolic threats.

But Americans have a very difficult time assessing dangers realistically. They tend to be afraid of things that won't hurt them and go into denial about things that are very harmful indeed. They believe people who tell them what they want to hear and attack those who speak unwelcome truths. One example of this is the fuss over wearing face masks in public to help keep COVID-19 from spreading.

It shouldn't even be a controversy. People in other countries think Americans have all lost their minds. They've been wearing masks to prevent viruses from spreading for years. Medical experts all agree that universal face coverings are the Number One thing we can all do to prevent spreading respiratory viruses. It's so simple, so cheap, so non-disruptive to our lives (cover your face and carry on!), and yet so effective. The only catch is that everyone needs to do it for it to have the maximum benefits.

But right now, face masks are such a scary issue, you could wear one for a Halloween costume and win a prize.

People who are more afraid of the virus than the precautions are angry at those who won't wear masks.

People who are angry about wearing masks aren't afraid of getting sick--but they're extremely afraid of losing something, although just what that might be is rather vague. Something about "freedoms," as though wearing a face mask is the first step on a slippery slope to a totalitarian, dystopian nightmare.

The degree of anger they display about wearing a mask shows how scared they are. If you're angry, you're afraid of something. Realizing that is a good way to manage anger: when you feel it, ask yourself, "what am I afraid of? What do I think is threatening me? How realistic is that threat?"

These are dark and frightening times. But allowing ourselves to listen to fear never comes out well. Great disruption brings with it great opportunity, to make a better world, to uproot things that were corrupt and festering, to build lives that are stronger and better, to make a new start across the board. People who conquer their fear and listen to their better angels can do this. People who let fear master them, and listen to those voices that feed their fears, are powerless.

Right now, we need all our power and all our ingenuity to shape a new reality. Most of the fears I see in the angry folks in Winchendon are entirely groundless. We live in a beautiful place, we've weathered the pandemic with very few cases, and our economy is opening up. Let's focus on all the good things we can be doing, and tell our anger to go back where it came from.

Inanna Arthen