"Be afraid.  Be very afraid."

These ominous words have become the Democrat party's war room strategy.  They were famously uttered by a reporter (played by Geena Davis) in The Fly after learning that a scientist (played by Jeff Goldblum)'s uncontrolled lab experiment (!) had gone terribly wrong .

This talking point was most strikingly revealed Tuesday morning after the first night of the Republican National Convention.  Despite the fact that the speeches were so clearly upbeat and optimistic, the pundits, from the most extreme far left to the local just-left-of-center news anchors, uniformly described it as "dark."  The New York Times Page One headline said it was "OMINOUS"; cable news guests declared it "apocalyptic."  They clearly were not watching what I was watching...or maybe their progressive lenses distorted the picture.  Maybe, for the left, messages of hope, individual opportunity, freedom of expression, and self-reliance are scary.  But for whatever reason, they clearly, and in unison, aimed to tell the American public that Republicans have let the bogeyman out of the closet.  And they don't just mean Donald Trump.  Despair is found in every election issue:

• The media's complicit and alarmist coronavirus reporting.  Despite clear national trends of weaker cases, lower hospitalizations, fewer deaths, and increasing therapeutic successes, the headlines about various spikes are designed to make us think it is getting worse, not better.  Blue-state governors are using this panic to support rolling back openings.  For example, Illinois is experiencing an overall decrease in positivity and death rates.  Yet, just this week, Governor Pritzker added the extra requirement of wearing masks while interacting with wait staff at restaurants and order-takers at drive-thrus — despite no proof that any spikes are related to restaurant patronage.  It does not matter; the goal is to keep people scared from one inflated crisis to the next.
• Returning to school scare tactics.  One need only read the signs at teachers' union rallies.  How sad that union activists hold up signs saying "Don't Kill Me" or "Teachers are not sacrificial" and threaten "safety" strikes.  Kids don't want to see their teachers pleading for their lives or worry that going to school could hurt someone.
• Black Lives Matter activists' fear-mongering and threats.  They have made city officials and police departments cower to demands, afraid to appear racist and ending up defenseless.  Store-owners in riot and looting zones paste BLM signs on their fronts, hoping their "support" will save them from destruction.  Even average Democrats who support peaceful protests feel it.  My liberal neighbor actually admitted that the reason she put up a BLM sign was because everyone else has them and she didn't want people to think she is racist.  But signs are not enough.  They will scare you into raising your fist as you eat dinner, whether you agree or not.  Having seen the violence and destruction, most people are afraid not to.

It was the Democrats at their convention who painted the bleak picture of America.  They declared that the current COVID-19 and economic crisis was caused by and is now the way of life under Trump.  They neglected to mention the thriving pre-pandemic economy and historical employment rates, except to attribute them to the Obama administration.  Almost every single speech commenced with a pointed attack on Trump personally.  The "everyday folk" they featured were victims of some crisis caused by Trump but saved by Biden.  They made it look as if Americans have lost their health care in the last four years and that industries have evaporated, leaving the vulnerable behind. Electing Trump means no more accessible health care and only mediocre, outdated manufacturing jobs.  By creating an atmosphere of doom and gloom, they claim that only they can provide a solution and the only man who can save you is Joe Biden.  More importantly, they look at America's past as flawed and systemically racist, probably unaware that this translates to irredeemable.  They failed to realize or acknowledge that it is the system, capitalism, not Trump, that makes economic success and recovery possible in the first place.

What a contrast to Trump's message regarding today's challenges.  The Republican message was clear: you don't need a savior; you need the tools and freedom entrenched in the idea of America to reach your own goals and dreams and a government that won't stand in your way.

We know that fear, crisis, and terror work.  The media adage "if it bleeds, it leads" is not for nothing; just look at the success of The Weather Channel.  The hyperbole is what keeps you interested, which is probably why every cable news network has frequent Breaking News and News Alerts, even for the most mundane announcements.  No doubt, after the convention, Republicans will sketch out detailed pictures of the misery the country will suffer under Biden or a Democrat-led Senate.  But it is not their primary modus operandi.  Republicans have gone out of their way this week to show that the election is about seeing America as good and exceptional, no matter what befalls it.  They have so far avoided directly countering the Democrat message "Trump is bad" by promoting instead "America is good."

Pope John Paul II's first words as pope were "do not be afraid."  A man who suffered under the ravages of Nazi Germany and brutal Soviet communism spoke often of hope despite the assaults on Western civilization and faith itself.  His refusal to succumb to the bleak prognosis propelled him into helping bring down the Iron Curtain, resulting in freedom and opportunity for millions of people.  Perhaps in 2020, the electorate will reject the scare tactics and misinformation of the left and realize that solutions are found in hope, not fear.