We find the situation terrifying, threatening, and paralyzing when we panic. The revolutions of the past three centuries have often been depicted as a violent offensive against civilization. Revolutionary action was met with violent and vitriolic reaction. Revolution was met with counter-revolution. To respond to opponents, though, is to treat them as interlocutors.
Response takes place in the arena of dialogue rational discussion.
Panicked reaction rules out any sort or dialogue and creative engagement. With fanatics there can be no possibility for them to modify their position. They are engaged in warfare, not discussion. The same can be said of those who panic before the exigencies of change and become bent upon preserving their status, power, and privileges at all costs. This involves understanding the motives lying in the often fragile and vulnerable human ego.