People are afraid of the unknown.
I lived for more than 12 years in Africa and my friends and family would occasionally say something like, “Isn’t it dangerous to go hiking there? Why, we read that there’s a war raging over there.” Or “There’s a terrible outbreak of dysentery there, right?”
What they didn’t take into account is the vastness of the African continent. A war in one country doesn’t mean war all over the continent. Dysentery in one corner of Africa doesn’t translate into disease and dying all over Africa.
They might not have known one country from another, and whatever knowledge that they had likely came from the news, which was inevitably of a negative nature.
Their concern was genuine and not for effect. They truly, in their ignorance of the situation, thought I was in danger living in Africa.
WILDERNESS, A DANGER FILLED PLACE?
People that spurn visiting the wilderness have a similar problem. They cite the dangers of the wilds: bears, snakes, mountain lions, storms, avalanches and on and on. “How can you possibly put yourself in such danger?”, a guy might ask as you while steering in and out of traffic with a cell to one ear and an eye on your face to see your reaction to his question.
Yes, there are dangers in the wilderness, but undoubtedly fewer than on the freeway that takes you partway to the trailhead.
R. Yorke Edwards, Canadian author and environmentalist, said this of the wilderness:
When all the dangerous cliffs are fenced off, all the trees that might fall on people are cut down, all of the insects that bite have been poisoned and all of the grizzlies are dead because they are occasionally dangerous, the wilderness will not be made safe. Rather, the safety will have destroyed the wilderness.
Let’s keep on hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, kayaking and doing all those other wonderful wilderness sports, being mindful of possible dangers and willfully allowing ourselves to be awestruck by wilderness and its beauties.
by Richard Davidian, Ph.D.
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