"Why Adolf Eichmann's Final Message Remains So Profoundly Unsettling," The Guardian
Dear Maria and Danny,
On a recent walk, I mentioned the systematic ways that we all participate in "structural evil" and how anyone who thinks s/he is among "the blameless" or "the unimpeachably innocent" has not examined the consumingly tentacular nature of systematic wrongdoing.
The article below concerning Zoom's treachery in China is a case in point.
Orthodox Christianity dealt with this knotty problem of ubiquitous wrong-doing through the doctrine of Original Sin, making clear that EVERYONE is born with an inevitable impulse to commit "sin"... whose original New Testamental reference is "hamartia," a Greek word to describe an archer "missing the mark." (Notably, "Original Sin" is actually celebrated in the Easter Exsultet, the most unusual prayer of the liturgical year. https://paxonbothhouses.
It is, I think, easier to deal with our inevitable shortcomings by recognizing them for what they are, and then doing what we can to make progress without ever fixating on perfection.
Religion and Perfectionism
The bloody aftermath of the French Revolution, brought to fever pitch by Robespierre's Reign of Terror, resulted (as I see it) from the revolutionary belief that the overthrow of Evil Monarchy and co-related marginalization of the "damnable church" justified the (often bloody) conviction that "being a revolutionary" was an indubitable, unimpeachable good. https://en.wikipedia.
Mommy and I will go to our graves in clear acknowledgement that the Sandinista government - which we supported and championed -betrayed its people in ways that were despicable, authoritarian and profoundly self-seeking. Daniel Ortega, our one-time hero, continues to do all these villainous things.
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (for whom I have high regard) identified an seldom acknowledged phenomenon (first set forth by the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus) which he called "enantiodromia" based on his observation that any behavior "pushed far enough" -- including, for example, revolutionary behavior -- results in a rather sudden transformation when any behavioral impulse taken too far morphs into its opposite.
Oxford Reference:
enantiodromia
QUICK REFERENCE
The principle attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus (?535–?475bc) according to which everything eventually changes into its opposite. In analytical psychology, Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) described it as ‘the principle which governs all cycles of natural life, from the smallest to the greatest’ (Collected Works, 7, paragraph 112). [From Greek enantios opposite + dromos course + -ia indicating a condition or quality]
One of my "Top 5" quotation-insights is from Trappist monk Thomas Merton:
"The terrible thing about our time is precisely the ease with which theories can be put into practice. The more perfect, the more idealistic the theories, the more dreadful is their realization. We are at last beginning to rediscover what perhaps men knew better in very ancient times, in primitive times before utopias were thought of: that liberty is bound up with imperfection, and that limitations, imperfections, errors are not only unavoidable but also salutary. The best is not the ideal. Where what is theoretically best is imposed on everyone as the norm, then there is no longer any room even to be good. The best, imposed as a norm, becomes evil.”
"Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander,” by Trappist monk, Father Thomas Merton
I believe Trump cultists are, at bottom, perfectionists who have been "blinded by the light."
If you study the essential "ideals" of Trumpistas -- many of them ostentatiously-but-
A brilliant expression of this "unacknowledged shadow side" is voiced by Rebecca Hamilton, a staunch opponent of abortion:
5 Pro-Life Votes: The Supreme Court Can Overtuen Roe Now
(This is a remarkable piece of writing!)
And behind the Pharisaic sham...
Enter the relentless search for ways to prove that "certain" people -- but certainly not people like me! -- are undeserving.
Alan: Conservatives would LOVE to be loving, kind and generous...
if only these traits did not encourage n'er-do-wells and parasites to persist in irresponsibility and despicable refusal to take care of themselves.
To close on The Cornerstone of Hopefulness, consider these other observations by Merton.
"You are fed up with words and I don’t blame you. I am nauseated by them sometimes. I am also, to tell the truth, nauseated by ideals and with causes. This sounds like heresy, but I think you will understand what I mean. It is so easy to get engrossed with ideas and slogans and myths that in the end one is left holding the bag, empty, with no trace of meaning left in it. And then the temptation is to yell louder than ever in order to make meaning be there again by magic..."
"Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. And there too a great deal has to be gone through, as gradually you struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much more real. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything."
"Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. And there too a great deal has to be gone through, as gradually you struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much more real. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything."
***
The great good news of The Apocalyse has begun to unfold.
Revelation is at hand. (The two Greek words that comprise "apocalypse" mean "lifting the veil.")
And as the veil lifts we realize (like the curtain being pulled back on The Wizard of Oz), that it has been the ruling class -- propagating and perpetuating full-spectrum trumpery -- that has held humankind in thrall.
It is this same Ruling Class Trumpery that has always kept its knee on George Floyd's neck.
"The cry for peace will be a cry in the wilderness, so long as the spirit of nonviolence does not dominate millions of men and women.
An armed conflict between nations horrifies us. But the economic war is no better than an armed conflict... An economic war is prolonged torture. And its ravages are no less terrible than those depicted in the literature on war properly so called. We think nothing of the other because we are used to its deadly effects. … The movement against war is sound. I pray for its success. But I cannot help the gnawing fear that the movement will fail if it does not touch the root of all evil — man's greed.
An armed conflict between nations horrifies us. But the economic war is no better than an armed conflict... An economic war is prolonged torture. And its ravages are no less terrible than those depicted in the literature on war properly so called. We think nothing of the other because we are used to its deadly effects. … The movement against war is sound. I pray for its success. But I cannot help the gnawing fear that the movement will fail if it does not touch the root of all evil — man's greed.
"Non-Violence — The Greatest Force" in The World Tomorrow (5 October 1926)
The greed of "The 1%" -- now revealed in the biblical abomination of Donald Trump -- has imposed a hugely disproportionate amount of unnecessary misery on the longsuffering people of our world.
"The Love Of Money Is The Root Of All Evil" - An Open Invitation To Christian Conservatives
And although "perfection" is an illusion-to-be-shunned (at least in the light of its commonplace misunderstanding), human life can be markedly better than the cesspool in which we flounder.
Yuuuvvvvvooooooo!!!
Daddy man
PS Blessedly, Western Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia already demonstrate a categorically better way of life. But here in the "United" States, where we have built an American Dream of private opulence and public squalor, the veil is lifting.
American Conservatives Are The Apotheosis Of Pharisaism. (Conservatives, Please Weigh In)
The Pharisee Party And The Devolution Of GOP Leaders Into Oligarchs Who Despise Democracy
The Pharisees Are Always With Us: A Field Guide
The Pharisees Are Always With Us: Here's What They "Look Like" Today
http://paxonbothhouses.Jesus Rages Against The Hypocrisy Of Religious Leaders: "Woe To You Religious Leaders!"
Zoom Acknowledges It Suspended Activists' Accounts At China's Request
Teleconferencing company Zoom acknowledged it shut down the accounts of several activists and online commemorations of the Tiananmen Square massacre ...
NPRYesterday
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