Fear is dictating the direction of American politics, and that’s a dangerous path.

For many, fear is watching a scary movie, thinking about the future or concern over the possibility of bad things happening. But recently, it seems like those fears aren’t just our own thoughts playing out in our heads — they are created and manipulated by politicians.

Simply put, Republican politicians have been using, and continue to use, the power of fear to manipulate Americans.

I will certainly acknowledge that both parties have used fear to galvanize voters in the past, but it is without a doubt the Republican Party has more recently and more effectively used the American people’s fears to their benefit. In fact, it is arguably the worst it has ever been right now.

A new precedent was set in the months and years following Sept. 11, 2001, and whether we liked it or not, our course as a nation shifted that day.

Instead of infrastructure, we focused on homeland security. Instead of education, we passed the Patriot Act. We wanted revenge for the thousands of innocent lives lost, so we went to war in Afghanistan.

Looking back, I really have no issue with the war in Afghanistan or with an increased emphasis on homeland security. Were both mishandled and poorly planned? Absolutely. But Americans were scared and angry and those actions helped qualm those feelings.

What I take issue with, however, are things like the so-called “Patriot Act,” or using torture to gain information or scaring people into supporting an unnecessary and costly war in Iraq.

Republicans in Congress and the White House at the time figured out if the American people were afraid enough, they could get away with anything if they justified it by claiming they were fixing something people were afraid of.

But with the Bush administration heading out the door in 2008, I was confident using fear to further agendas was gone in American politics.

After all, we had just elected a president who was relentlessly optimistic and even used “hope” as a campaign slogan. It just seemed like the American public had grown wise to the fear-mongering of the Republican Party. But in fact, the role of fear in American politics has expanded.

Think of the list of things the Republicans and their friends on Fox News have claimed since Obama took office. None of these things are actually true, nor is there any evidence to make these claims, but they scare people into thinking they should vote for Republicans so they continue to be said.

Republicans haven’t just used fear to further political agendas, they’ve used it to get and keep jobs in government. The sad thing is, all of their convincing has actually worked.

In the last two midterms, the Democrats in this country were beaten soundly. It might not be completely because of fear-mongering, but that certainly played a role for some voters.

Donald Trump is so popular right now because Republicans have been working to terrify Americans for years.

People have become so fearful of Islam in America, illegal immigrants and war in the Middle East, they will vote for anyone who claims to be able to fix those problems, even if they don’t have any viable solutions.

Trump fixates on the things that scare many in this country the most. He takes the fears of his followers, dwells on them endlessly and then claims he could fix everything if he were in charge.

The fact of the matter is, using fear is dangerous. If Republicans hadn’t made people so afraid, they wouldn’t be dealing with the Donald Trump problem.

Connor Touhey ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism, political science and history.