Robert Mueller, fighter of fear
On infant mortality, public service, and the good done by those who fight against fear
As the world grows ever more materially prosperous, we can watch with satisfaction as many different forms of suffering are mitigated. Extreme poverty, infant mortality, and vaccine-preventable deaths have all shown marked improvement in the last century.
■ But not every harm can be mitigated by prosperity. Fear, alas, is with us in more forms than ever. This is in part because fear can be weaponized. Terrorism is a weapon preferred by some movements and ideologies, precisely because it works even against the wealthy.
■ Robert Mueller, who has just died at age 81, was a committed opponent of fear. He assumed leadership of the FBI just a week before the 9/11 terrorist attacks and reframed the bureau’s entire mission to deprive terrorism of its power to spread fear.
■ The world needs people of Mueller’s cast: Methodical, unassuming, and extremely proficient. People willing to do the thankless tasks that give others lives with less fear. People willing to take skills that have significant market value and apply them instead to the public interest. We don’t often know how fortunate we are to have strong, civic-minded leaders like Robert Mueller among us until they are gone.
