Fear whether real or imagined is used since the dawn of time for manipulation. Fear breeds revenge, hate, prejudice, arrogance, envy, greed and uncovers worst of all instincts. It is so easy to manipulate and exploit this human emotion.

I saw an excellent documentary last week, I would say maybe the best alternative docu in a long time. It is called The Power of Nightmares, directed by Adam Curtis and produced by the BBC. The basic idea of this documentary is that the war on terror on larger scale is an illusion fueled by the neo-conservatives and islamists. Adam Curtis tells the story over a period of almost half of 20th century, covering the activities and the history of both groups. He introduces the neo-cons as strongly influenced by the ideas of Leo Strauss, which believed that liberal societies need simple and powerful myths to inspire and unite the people.