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I think in the majority of cases the reason is not so much that they find it scary to think about it, but rather that they find it scary and they feel helpless in doing anything about it. Actually this is the central thesis of Kim Witte's extended parallel process model. So one approach is to communicate ways how one may do something about it - signing petitions, writing to representatives, joining a protest (like the one in London next month), etc. The least preachy way to do so is to casually mention that you're doing it yourself.