Trey Smith
We previously saw how Orthodox Jews in New York prevailed upon the government to get rid of bike lanes in their neighborhoods to protect them from the sight of women on bikes. Now almost 40,000 men gathered in Citi Field to call for an end to the Internet as a danger to their faith. Women, of course, were not allowed to attend because that would also be an affront. They were allowed to watch...you guessed it...on the Internet.It's refreshing to see a religious zealot admit to a truth that most of us had already caught on to. Fundamentalists -- of any creed, ideology or "brand" -- are terrified of the free-flow of information!
The seven hour event cost $1.5 million and featured prominent Jewish leaders who railed against the Internet as corrupting the faithful by exposing them to outside ideas and influences. One participant is quoted as denouncing “unadulterated freedom” as a threat to religion.
~ from The Evil of “Unadulterated Freedom”: Roughly 40,000 Orthodox Jewish Men Gather In New York Stadium To Denounce The Internet by Jonathan Turley ~
Conservative belief systems, by their very nature, are all about controlling people. The powers within said belief systems believe that they alone should get to tell their followers what to think, say and do. As long as they are able to operate a closed system, the faithful follow their every command and dictate like lobotomized sheep.
This is why they fear "unholy" things like the internet! One of the sheep may wake up from their slumber to start thinking for themselves! They might start asking questions the powers can't or don't want to answer. They might put forth different ideas. If one sheep can do this, a few more may do it as well. In time, if you don't stamp out the free-flow of information, the sheep might get together to start an insurrection!
So, to avoid this potentiality, the leaders go out out of their way to keep people as ignorant as humanly possible...because ignorant people are more easily controlled.
I don't know. I think in many cases "the sheep" (a rather perjorative term, no?) themselves are EAGER to believe...eager for certainty. The leaders certainly get power and wealth and position from this, but the authoritarian personality seems to have an innate psychological need to be led. Certainty is addictive...being in the in-group itself gives one psychological power.
ReplyDeleteAs that eminent sage George Carlin said w/r/t politics (another venue for braying thoughtlessness and conformity)...maybe it is not the politicians who are to blame. maybe it is the people.
While I agree that many of "the people" desire certainty, I would also say that they have been conditioned to want it.
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