Fear is winning, sadly.

Fear is driving the British out of the European Union: fear of change, fear of losing their autonomy, their identity, their sense of self.

Fear is driving the US to choose Trump as President: it is a similar fear as the one seen in the UK: fear of change, fear of losing their identity, their sense of self.

Fear drove the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando: the mad killer was afraid of gay people, he was afraid of being gay himself; fear of change, fear of losing his identity, his sense of self.

Fear drives the terrorists; fear drives the fascists who use the fight against terrorism to promote their own agenda. People are becoming afraid of life, afraid of change, afraid of the future. Out of fear, they want to flee to the past, a past that is no more and can never be again. A past when the UK was purely Anglo-Saxon, when the USA was predominantly Anglo-Saxon, when gender identity issues were hidden in the closet, away from public view. We cannot go back to the 19th Century, but people are so afraid of the future that they are clinging desperately to the illusion that we can return to that period.

Governments in Europe, in the US and in Latin America (actually, all over the world) have failed to address these fears; they have failed to educate people for managing change, they have failed to provide people with a sense of basic security and self-confidence, that would allow them to defeat such fears in themselves and in others.

In the past, “God and Country” provided the necessary feeling of security, identity, purpose, the sense of self. Today, Religion and Political Institutions are discredited: the people are sinking into fear.

We need to provide confidence in a future of integration, peace, freedom and security. For that, we must first address these fears and help people feel safe again, so that they can grow and embrace life.

Our future depends on it.