Running Scared

There are times when people become not merely illogical, but downright unrealistic. Unfortunately, the times most likely are when a person has fallen deeply in love, when a person has had a spiritual experience and accepted a rigid set of beliefs, and when someone is badly anxious and scared. Such a person when faced with even the simplest everyday decisions will have difficulty knowing the best choice or in following through with such a choice. Second guesses, outright denials, wildly impractical schemes tend to be the result.
People in such a state are not stupid. In fact, if they stick their heads above the rim of their rut, they can see that what they have committed to makes little sense.
The illogical behavior of people in love we could find cute, even charming. Books, movies, television shows are built around just such foolish antics. The person acting out of fear may seem less endearing, although books and movies give them attention also. But it is the person whose faith, however valid, takes over, this is the one who tends to cause the greatest havoc, whether it be a radical Muslim, ultraconservative Jew or fundamentalist Christian. (Has anyone noticed the absence of radical Buddhists?)
There are people looking to lead this country whose belief systems are not so much about finding meaning for their own lives as forcing everyone else to behave in a certain way. One such has wandered into my sphere by having a husband whose clinic professes to have anti-gay conditioning  Never mind that every reputable professional group has rejected this.Never mind that every study has shown it to be ineffective over the long run, if not ultimately damaging to the supposed clients themselves (there is a disproportionate number of suicides amongst those who were so treated.)
But this form of treatment has an amazing level of acceptance amongst the conservative Christian community. I can always tell when certain (anti-gay) evangelists have come through the area: I get calls from gay and lesbian young people panic-stricken about fitting their sexual orientation into their faith. And I have found, sadly, that telling these men and women that the facts show their sexuality cannot be changed any more that the color of their eyes has no effect. That preacher at that revival made them feel so bad about themselves that they aren't able to be rational about it(see above.)
Yes, they can work to accept themselves, to see all the God-given gifts they have.But when we are surrounded by family and others who condemn a person for being who they are, it is difficult to have the clear-headedness we need.
And it becomes even more difficult when important people in our community tell us we must behave in a particular way. We might condemn some ethnic cultures who dictate how a woman must dress. But do we frown upon groups in our own society who condemn women if they dress in a way we do not approve of? Standards of behavior, however artificial and ephemeral, tell us that men must behave this way and women that way. And when some does not, then what?