The New Religion
The First World is witnessing the coalescence of the Religious Age of Irrationality.
Traditional forms of Catholicism, Anglicanism, Protestantism and the rest of mainstream religion has waned in the West and in their place, the religious fervor of social activism and irrationality has risen.
Human beings crave a calling that is beyond their ken and full explanation. The vast majority of humanity toils from cradle to grave with very little individual impact upon this mortal world. Frankly, without a bit of order, large groups of people easily descend into outright anarchy with the strongest and the cleverest ending up on top. The ones in positions of power had to figure out a system to keep the rabble in line or the cycle of anarchy would repeat and the next set of clever and strong humans would be in charge. Enter the ages of gods and organized religions.
Millennia ago the Egyptian pharaoh’s were the earthly equivalent of gods. Kings and queens since have had god-like status conferred upon them. Their word was law. Even heads of state, such as President Trump’s swearing-in invoke the name of God. But gradually, especially in the First World, the wonder, awe and fear of these figures have worn and been chipped away. Most royalty are merely figureheads and tourist attractions. These are mere human beings after all, kings and queens, the Pope, heads of church, prime ministers and presidents. They are not mythical beings who can smite us at will, any rational person can see they are just trying to keep the rest of us in line while keeping humanity back from the abyss of anarchy.
But instead of this being an Age of Rationality the First World has made a sharp U-turn and this is becoming the Age of Irrationality. There is an unprecedented Age of Information sweeping the world where the average person has access to untold amounts of data. Every First Worlder should be able to look at what information is available, listen to the experts on a particular subject and then be able to come to a consensus opinion on what direction the group as a whole should decide upon. Instead, there is an overabundance of information and the clever have learned how to cherry pick which pieces to push their agendas. Then just like the old school religions, their ministers like the Al Gores, Michael Moores, David Suzukis, through their ministries of Greenpeace, Black Lives Matter, PETA, (Insert name of your favourite activist group or random Native group) indoctrinate their disciples to spread the politically correct word. Do not get me wrong, everyone is entitled to their opinion but it is the religious zealot who continuously pushes their agenda on others and cries heresy if you don’t agree with them and adopt their lifestyle.
Try having a rational conversation with the vegan crowd, the anti-vaxxers, the LGBTQIA/LGBTQ2 groups (these people? are going to run out of letters soon), feminists, chemtrail believers, animal rights activists, seal hunt protesters, pro-organic, anti-oil sands, anti-pipeline, anti-sugar, anti-gluten, anti-smoking but pro-marijuana, anti-GMO, anti-hormone, anti-antibiotic, anti-everything groups and individuals. Even in the face of clear, incontrovertible proof and facts, they will still hold fast to their faith. Oh, this celebrity said this. Oh, there was a study. Oh, it is all a conspiracy or all the experts were paid off by such and such industry. Oh, the middle-aged white man made a patriarchal remark that mocked some (insert ethic group). Or in the cases such as how to mitigate changes in the climate, man-made or not, you cannot allow rational discussion enter the conversation because Mother Earth must be protected at all costs and make sure you are consulting a Native group. Latest and greatest, oh, the Russians did it!
We even have the high-tech equivalent of the Holy Inquisition from the Dark Ages in Europe. Recently, the internet again set its hair on fire over an animal supposedly being mistreated. The film company releasing ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ cancelled the premier of the show over the social media controversy of a dog doing a stunt in the water. As is the norm with these social media lynchings, the persons involved were tried, convicted and ‘executed’ with the speed of the internet. I won’t even tread towards gorillas, orcas or lions.
The latest testament to this new Religion of Irrationality is the millions of First Worlders participating in the Women’s March protests partly due to the election of Trump vice Hillary. I am sure a sizable portion of the crowds wanted to see a woman in the White House but a man was elected, again. A man who is not politically correct. A man who was secretly taped over a decade ago making derogatory remarks reference women. A man who has ideas that counter the anti-everything crowd. But he is the person who has the legal support of his nation that elected him. That nation also saw fit to put in a Republican House and Senate. But this is not about politics but perceptions, myths and larger than life ideologies.
As I watch the Women’s March in Washington, DC (reportedly the largest one day US protest) and smaller gatherings around the world, listening to their speakers, I hear fears of bigotry, misogyny, eroding of women’s and minority’s rights. I did not hear anything of the sort promised by Trump in his Inauguration speech yesterday. If anything, he quoted the phrase of no matter the colour of skin, we all bleed the same. The man is definitely a boor but some would say he is a straight talker who wants to get things done. What is so bad about an American president wanting to look after Americans first? So what would make people so passionate, angry and upset? If it were just over policy and politics then these same people would be involved in local government talking about sewers, roads and bridges. Maybe, if people were concerned about the bigger picture, how about the fact that Obama is the only two term President with eight full years of war under his belt with no end in sight. I guess as long as the bombs drop on Third World countries then we can have the luxury of worrying about hurt feelings. But when it comes time to vote, no one shows up. Local municipal elections barely record over 20% voter turnout and even this last so-called hotly contested presidential contest only saw about 50% of eligible voting Americans making the effort. If a person is so upset about something, then rationally, you would think they would gather up all their friends and do something like vote their wishes. Instead, the norm is becoming if you did not bother to vote and your wishes were not granted, then march in the streets and bust up the place.
In polite company, the convention is to refrain from discussing the three trigger subjects: sex, politics and religion. But your grandparent’s religious arguments over Old and New Testament are gone. A vacuum was left by the retreat of established religion and it is being replaced by something just as irrational. As a species we seem to crave being part of something greater, something larger than life, something that says our existence in this world counts for something whether it makes sense or not. It is just human nature for us to put visceral, irrational ‘faith’ in something that transcends our regular existence.
Welcome to the New Age.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.