The Primal Emotion of Fear

John Avlon: Fear is our most primal emotion, intrinsic to survival. He says it's the one that we have the least control over. We don't regulate fear particularly well, so it's fairly easy to evoke and turn us into infants. That's part of why Republicans use it in their campaign against Willie Horton; they infantilize people by turning them into children.Avlon: It sweeps aside a lifetime of learning and maturity and reduces us emotionally to infancy.