Jumping at Shadows: The Triumph of Fear and the End of the American Dream

In this fascinating examination of fear, journalist Abramsky (The American Way of Poverty) reveals how it has infected the collective American psyche, influencing everything from child rearing to government. In the wake of one of the most tumultuous presidential elections in U.S. history, Abramsky outlines how the Donald Trump campaign used the many faces of fear to attract their electorate. Politicians aren't the only ones exploiting people's anxieties; Abramsky also looks at the rise of antianxiety and antidepressant medication use and the increase in police brutality, especially against unarmed black men such as Floyd Dent, whose murder is chronicled here in gut-wrenching detail. Yet, says the author, automobiles kill far more people than violent crime, and most Americans drive without concern every day. So why this disconnect? Abramsky expands on Barry Glassner's The Culture of Fear, which argues that people are afraid of things that are statistically unlikely to cause them harm, suggesting this notion has moved from the fringes to the mainstream since President Trump took office.