It's like my martial arts skills; I hope I don't ever have to use them to defend myself or someone I care about. That doesn't stop me from going to practice. But I feel more secure knowing that I have some control if I were ever attacked physically. I believe it is that sense of control, that helps put humans at a little more ease.

Of course there is always going to be that person that is a more skilled martial artist (or has a nasty weapon) or there is going to be an emergency situation that we aren't quite prepared for, but if we feel that we have some control, the psychological effect can be overwhelmingly positive.

As the song says, "In the end, it doesn't even matter". We prepare ourselves in the ways that best suit our needs, in order to gain that sense of control, but in the end, none of us have very much control over anything at all. But that doesn't mean we don't feel better preparing as best we can.