Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.

Byrnes contrasts a defensive posture—seeking “security” above all—with a more expansive, risk-tolerant pursuit of “opportunity.” The line suggests that an excessive desire to eliminate uncertainty can become a kind of living death: people may avoid ventures, change, or responsibility because they fear loss, failure, or instability. The final clause sharpens the critique by implying that the dread of fully engaging with life’s risks can outweigh even the fear of mortality. Read in a civic register, it can also be taken as a warning that societies obsessed with safety and guarantees may sacrifice dynamism, growth, and freedom.