How is it misguided that the only thing to fear is fear itself. It's actually pretty fucking true.
It is only the fear itself that paralyses a person from moving forward or from dealing with a situation.
Sure, torture etc is something worse to fear, and the fear is totally justified then, but in general, fearing a job interview, or fearing stepping out of the house, or fearing your face in the mirror, well its the fear itself that is the problem.
I don't know, I was pretty pissed off when I wrote that yesterday. Anyway, I still find it a useless phrase, I have a lot of apathy atm so I don't feel much fear about anything, yet the consequences still come, the ends that I would fear if I was a well-adjusted human being still happen and even without fear, the outcomes are just as disastrous, and dealing with the issues is no easier.
Maybe I just feel it doesn't apply very well to me.
But you make good points.