Never enter a fight with the attitude you are going to get defeated. Have you ever heard a boxer say he was afraid of his opponent and feared he was going to lose the upcoming fight?
Get educated on the issues, contact your representatives, and use your vote effectively. You may not in the end win every fight but you will feel good that you gave it your all.
Use fear to your advantage; it will strengthen your resolve.
Anyone who has ever got in to a fight who says they weren't afraid is either lying to you or psychotic. Fear is the catalyst that drives a man to take action. It's hard-wired in to our most basic functions.
What this man is feeling right now is threats from a source with no identifiable vector. It's the same thing that causes a little jolt of adrenaline during a storm when the tornado sirens go off here in the Midwest. We hear the alarm, get the family under cover, then turn our eyes to the sky, not knowing if, when, or where it's coming from. Senses become immediately alert and snap in to focus. When a threat we cannot stop is identified, we take shelter, then if necessary, take action.
Bravery is being able to take cognitive action in the face of a threat, while feeling fear. Fear causes a fight/flight/freeze reaction in animals. Some deer will flee an approaching car. Some will turn and aggressively run straight at it. While others will just look at the headlights, frozen in place, unable to react.
A plan of action, training, allows you to alter your fight/flight/freeze response. You essentially "reprogram" yourself to trigger a conditioned response so that you are able to take a set of actions without conscious thought - it allows us to respond with immediate action when faced with a threat.
In fact, these "immediate action drills" are hammered in to our shooting disciplines and called
exactly that. They exist so that we do NOT freeze or fumble when faced with adverse conditions. Gun jams. Proper training allows you to respond.
Firearms training is not enough to prepare you for what may happen down the road though. Your wits, your ability to analyze and adapt, are also important. Write a letter. Tear it up. Write it better. You learn about yourself, about what makes you, in fact, YOU, while you go through this process. I often learn about myself while writing. I gain a better understanding of who I am, and what I believe in, as I hone and reinforce these beliefs by exercising a keyboard.
Just as I hone my ability at the range.
Use this opportunity to understand who you are. You are nervous. Why? Address the underlying issue inside of yourself, so that you can set that unease aside and focus.
Most of all; we're not at war
yet, so enjoy life. Do not preoccupy yourself so much about what MIGHT happen that you reduce your quality of life.