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I know that when I write these things, that I tend to stray into the obvious from time-to-time. But, I think that it's important to stay focused on what's in front of our very eyes. So, the results from last night should not have come to a surprise to anyone who truly understands the way that Americans tend to think about the basic things of life.
Of course, anyone who has figured out that the GOP now has control of the House because Republican politicians have absolutely no compunctions about lying, cheating stealing, spending any amount of money, appealing to greed, hatred, piety and hypocrisy. Well, that's a given. They wouldn't be Republicans politicians if they DIDN'T do all of those things, now would they? No, I'm sorry that the problem is much deeper, much more ingrained in the the basic American society, than the unscrupulous antics of a gaggle of bottom feeding GOP pols.
The problem, ladies and gentlemen, is with our American penchant for FAITH BASED THINKING.
Of course, many will point out that Faith Based Thinking is not really thinking at al and not necessarily exclusive to America... And they would be right. After all, why bother using facts and history to tailor ones own beliefs, when one can simply make all of this hard stuff easier by just turning it all on its head? Just CREATE a belief system and tailor all of your "facts" and "histories" around them. We see this stuff ALL the time and most of us don't even bother to correct the situation when ever it happens a lot of the time. That kind of thing hasn't just happened here, it has happened in other cultures as well.
But the successful ones have already passed through that stage and our operating in a Fact Based Thinking mode today. We just have to catch up, that's all.
A lot of time, it really grates on us when we're powerless to correct this situation in our day to day goings on, because of the clout of the person or persons actually doing it. But, the fact is that we live America, a constitutionally guaranteed representative-democracy, and the most insidious affect that faith based thinking has on our society is the fact that control of various institutions by the faith based thinking crowd has always been their goal.
So, it's a No Shit, Sherlock, that they've pretty much succeeded in that department. But in spite of the overall institutional control, there is a much more wide spread thing at work. Basically, we're all entitled to do it, any time well feel like it. No amount of education, historical narrative or truth telling can stand up to it. Yep, it's just that powerful a thing. Shoot, Godzilla stomping on Tokyo would jealous of this god-damned thing, if he cared... or even, uh, existed.
It just comes do to the the "fact" that things are as we say they are and it's just as simple as that.
Faith based thinking is always lurking in the background, and when other, more unscrupulous denizens of the body politic aren't exploiting this flaw in our psyche, we're very happy to do this crap to ourselves. I saw it in action while I was watching The Laramie Project movie on HBO earlier today. I'd be surprised to find out that, if you're reading this, you're not familiar with this movie. But, let me just reiterate that its a movie about the murder of Matt Shepard in 1998. Shepard was kidnapped, beaten and left to die while tied to a wooden fence by a couple of Laramie, WY men, simply because of the fact that they wanted to kill a gay man.
The movie is based on interviews of people who lived in Laramie, many of whom had known both Shepard and his killers. Now, while everyone was quick to say that they were appalled by Shepard's murder, there were a couple of ways that Faith Based Thinking wormed into their narratives. The first and foremost was the notion that "something like this CAN'T HAPPEN IN LARAMIE." The people there were of the faith based belief that Laramie was somehow immune to the basic problems of hatred, bigotry and murder... Simply because they say that is is. One good Christian after another repeated this mantra, with nary a light going off in their heads. It was quite remarkable.
Now, if you weren't inflicted by Faith Based Thinking, you can see the flaw in this narrative right away. Basically, that it CAN happen in Laramie, because it ACTUALLY DID. You would think that it would be really simple to realize that fact, but then again, Faith Based Thinking can trump all. I think that I just heard Godzilla moan in envy.
Only a few of the characters pointed out this basic fact about Laramie, one was a woman portrayed as Muslim citizen there. Other than the fact that she wasn't one the rest of the good, white Christian folk of the town, it was quite clear that she was an outsider from the Faith Based Way of thinking that permeated the response to Shepard's murder.
In spite of the few voices of truth and reason about themselves. everyone else was quite free to operate in such a self-deluded environment. Welcome to America, baby.
So, how do Republicans used this flaw in our psyche to win elections? It's so freaking simple. it's god damned ridiculous.
Well first, you have to understand that it's already lurking there in the background for our unscrupulous Republican friends to take advantage of. The only thing that have to do is just tell people what they already want to believe. By doing this, they create a bond that manifests itself in the voting booth.
- Tax cuts can create jobs.
- All the money that we spend on the Pentagon makes us safe.
- Socialism is unAmerican.
- Love America or leave it.
- Making the rich richer is good for everyone else.
- Racial, religious and sexual minorities are problematic.
- One earns the right to make one's life easier on the backs of others.
- America is a Christian nation.
- And most of all, YOU ARE A GOOD CITIZEN FOR BELIEVING IN ALL OF THAT CRAP, as are the Republicans.
Now, occasionally, the chickens come home to roost and we end up with Republican led wars and banking crises and it's in those times when GOP bullshit is rejected by a dose of Reality Based Thinking in the voting booth.
But, the fact is that Faith Based Thinking is never going to go away in America, because it's our God Given Right as Americans to engage in it and it's so freaking easy to do. Always ripe for the taking by our lying, cheating stealing, spending any amount of money, appealing to greed, hatred, piety and hypocrisy Republican politician friends.
The only way that we can counter this is by bashing these obtuse motherfuckers over their pointy heads until they realize that they've not doing themselves any favors by doing acceding to their Faith Based Thinking ways. That wasn't nice, I know. Sorry, that was just some frustration seeping through.
But what can we really do?
Work all the time on them, even when it's not an election going on. Tell people that we meet along the way that something isn't true merely because they believe it is. Hand them a book or a dictionary whenever we can. Introduce them to someone who's nothing like their prejudices say that they are. Demonstrate what socialism really is and what it isn't and point out that it's not all bad. Face down Faith Based Thinking whenever it pops up. And we can never give up. Speak up, fight, never give in! Reenforce the truth that, while we're all entitled to our own BELIEFS, none of us are entitled to our own FACTS.
I know that it's a pretty hard thing to ask. Worthwhile things always are.
Basically, our education system has failed to overcome this problem and we are stuck with it as a nation. Our elections are a gauge by which we can establish who's doing the faith based thinking or not. Sucks, doesn't it?
But we can't just can't have faith that the real world will eventually settle into their lives and they'll act accordingly, we have to make it a reality for them and convince them that their very survival depends on rejecting Faith Base Thinking.
Get REAL, People!
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