This video is both brief and necessary.
We live in apocalyptic times. We're not the first; there have been many other apocalyptic moments in human history (the armistice decades of the World War, the run-up to the American Civil War, the Revolutionary period in France, probably a hundred more), but none of those were as apocalyptic as these, because those dysfunctions were purely behavioural. Today we're floundering in that same full-spectrum meltdown of morality and reason, at the precise moment we're also contending with the literal full-spectrum meltdown of our habitat. AKA, the thing we must have to live, without which we will die.
All of us.
I've commented before on a Zenner's responsibility in such times.
It's crucial to understand that the Stupidity Pandemic isn't just "their" problem. Our side – however we each define it – is just as fully implicated in the impending doom. I'm particularly discouraged by the social justice movement, one I've adhered to all my life, but which has recently collapsed into the same lynch-mob gutter as its presumed enemies. All the symptoms Bonhoeffer catalogued – inability to overcome conviction with logic, meeting substantive challenge with violence, thinking in slogans and catchphrases, reacting to vocabulary rather than statements or actions, and, I would add, simple crass bigotry shopped as virtue – are fully in evidence.
It's become impossible to advocate against racism or sexism anymore. Not truly. If you try, you'll first be smeared by your right wing opponents as a leftist lunatic, given the frankly crazy rhetoric of the most vocal elements of your side. Then, if you're old, white, and/or male, you'll be attacked by your theoretical allies for speaking at all.
And as Bonhoeffer pointed out, this weaponised hypocrisy can't be overcome with reason. Debate is worthless, to say nothing of common cause. The mob wants blood, any blood, and its formula for determining whose is forfeit is racist and sexist. (Note that ostensibly approved race or gender won't shield you, either. Anybody's killable. The Reivers just find another alibi on their infinite list – wealth, prominence, profession, perceived privilege, regional origin, academic record, alleged or immaterial past conduct, and on and on.)
I'm at a loss to understand how these bad-actors can possibly confront the Right with a straight face, now that they've joyfully incarnated all the very worst of it. The karma debt such behaviour incurs defies imagination.
As for me, I'm not going to shut up about it.
In this environment, if Zen is worth a damn, it's to keep us clear and independent of the generalised depravity. Let us all endeavour to look deeply, hold ourselves to a demanding standard of non-hypocrisy, and act in measure of acquired insight.
Because if our practice can't get us that, it can't get us anything.
We live in apocalyptic times. We're not the first; there have been many other apocalyptic moments in human history (the armistice decades of the World War, the run-up to the American Civil War, the Revolutionary period in France, probably a hundred more), but none of those were as apocalyptic as these, because those dysfunctions were purely behavioural. Today we're floundering in that same full-spectrum meltdown of morality and reason, at the precise moment we're also contending with the literal full-spectrum meltdown of our habitat. AKA, the thing we must have to live, without which we will die.
All of us.
I've commented before on a Zenner's responsibility in such times.
It's crucial to understand that the Stupidity Pandemic isn't just "their" problem. Our side – however we each define it – is just as fully implicated in the impending doom. I'm particularly discouraged by the social justice movement, one I've adhered to all my life, but which has recently collapsed into the same lynch-mob gutter as its presumed enemies. All the symptoms Bonhoeffer catalogued – inability to overcome conviction with logic, meeting substantive challenge with violence, thinking in slogans and catchphrases, reacting to vocabulary rather than statements or actions, and, I would add, simple crass bigotry shopped as virtue – are fully in evidence.
It's become impossible to advocate against racism or sexism anymore. Not truly. If you try, you'll first be smeared by your right wing opponents as a leftist lunatic, given the frankly crazy rhetoric of the most vocal elements of your side. Then, if you're old, white, and/or male, you'll be attacked by your theoretical allies for speaking at all.
And as Bonhoeffer pointed out, this weaponised hypocrisy can't be overcome with reason. Debate is worthless, to say nothing of common cause. The mob wants blood, any blood, and its formula for determining whose is forfeit is racist and sexist. (Note that ostensibly approved race or gender won't shield you, either. Anybody's killable. The Reivers just find another alibi on their infinite list – wealth, prominence, profession, perceived privilege, regional origin, academic record, alleged or immaterial past conduct, and on and on.)
I'm at a loss to understand how these bad-actors can possibly confront the Right with a straight face, now that they've joyfully incarnated all the very worst of it. The karma debt such behaviour incurs defies imagination.
As for me, I'm not going to shut up about it.
In this environment, if Zen is worth a damn, it's to keep us clear and independent of the generalised depravity. Let us all endeavour to look deeply, hold ourselves to a demanding standard of non-hypocrisy, and act in measure of acquired insight.
Because if our practice can't get us that, it can't get us anything.
Well this is something well-known in philosophy called Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's a good presentation of what we are experiencing in these highly charged and polarized times. Buying into a sort of group think and abandoning one's autonomy can feel very powerful, energizing, and virtuous. One psychological term for this is abaissement du niveau mental--a lowering of consciousness--so that everyone is simmering in the same uncritical, ideological broth. It is a state of inflation, even euphoria. And as is clear from the video and your good comments, it is very dangerous.
I thought it was interesting that it mentioned that people who spend a lot of time alone are less susceptible to being taken in by these powerful forces. What I've found personally is that I've become more solitary over the last several years. I pinch myself every once in a while and say, Is this unhealthy? Oughtn't I to be more social? But when social interaction is little more than tropes and memes, it seems ok.
thanks Robin, you always have fresh, interesting ideas.
(Robin, it's me, Cathryn Stillings from facebook. I wrote the note above. Just to let you know.)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cathryn. As a hermit, I'm obviously a fan of solitude. I do believe it's helpful to keep you sane; at least it has been for me. Peer pressure is in fact a potent drug.
ReplyDelete'Course you can also go slightly mad in seclusion. In the end, it's about awareness. That's the basis of morality. You want to cultivate productive doubt, to keep yourself on the rails.
If there's a single term for what's missing now, it's that.
"Great faith. Great doubt. Great effort." I had a Japanese calligrapher write that for me and after all the times I've moved and all the purges of unnecessary stuff, it is still with me.
DeleteIt is possible I think to keep one's sense of solitude intact in social settings. I'm not sure quite what I mean by that, but that is how I feel. Tomorrow I am going out to lunch with a couple friends. I'm happy to make the effort but I have to come home and unmuddle my brain, I usually play Bach because it's so nice and clearly structured....
Your ideas are much appreciated.
be well my hermit friend.