The first and great commandment is: Don’t let them scare you.

The line reframes a biblical-sounding moral imperative (“the first and great commandment”) into a civic rule for modern life: resist intimidation. Attributed to journalist and broadcaster Elmer Davis, it suggests that fear is a primary tool by which demagogues, propagandists, and institutions secure compliance, and that the foundational act of citizenship is refusing to be governed by panic. The phrasing implies that once fear takes hold, other ethical or political judgments become distorted; conversely, maintaining composure is the precondition for clear thinking and moral agency. The quote’s punch comes from its simplicity—treating courage not as heroism but as a daily discipline against being “scared” into surrendering principles.