Category Archives: conservatism

The Dialectics of Identity

Leave a reply

In yesterday’s blog I discoursed re Lewis Thomas’ Lives of a Cell and the symbiotic relationship between the setting of boundaries and willingness to “relax” them for the sake of the collective. Someone once described this process as the competing drives for homeostasis and change and is relevant to the individual and the collective. If the drive for “homoeostasis” is unbalanced, the individual will be trapped in a static, autistic world. If the other need becomes predominant, the individual will be trapped in an incorporative mode of being in which “strange” is so needed that it overwhelms the ego. This individual will be trapped in perpetual “hunger.” This can even describe the addiction process.

On the collective level, I like to illustrate with politics and there is no better illustration than our current political and social polarization. To function healthily, a culture must have “conservative” forces present as well as “liberal” forces. There must be a tendency to “conserve” tradition but that tendency must be balanced by a willingness to engage with “strange” or “difference.” There must be a setting of boundaries but this boundary-setting must be balanced by a willingness to “relax” boundaries here and there. On one extreme there is stagnation and ultimate death. On the other extreme there is “change” run amok and ultimately death.

Re this dialectic of the collective noted above, there is an interesting article in today’s Washington Post newspaper. The article describes the conservative response of one Oklahoma community toward changes that seem to be threatening them. The article reported the citizenry’s anxiety, fear, and anger toward an over-reaching government, creeping socialism, and liberal values from that bastion of liberalism “up north in Norman.” But this was not a hatchet job on conservative values. It merely conveys to the reader the genuine sadness that some communities feel when their world view is perceived to be threatened. And on the same idea, you might find PBS’s American Experience from this past week as it portrays the Amish response to encroaching civilization.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/to-residents-of-another-washington-their-cherished-values-are-under-assault/2012/03/01/gIQAsbhXlR_print.html

Sociobiology and Lewis Thomas

Leave a reply

Though I am steeped in the liberal arts, I have been increasingly curious about the biological sciences. Those of us who have “escaped” into abstraction must always remember that there is a biological dimension to all these “new-fangled ideas” that we revel in. One of my favorite books in biology dates back to 1963, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, by Lewis Thomas. Thomas vividly describes this “biological dimension” and suggests at times its inextricable relationship to human behavior, individually and collectively.

From this book I posit the notion that life itself is basically about the creation of boundaries and the evolution of these “boundaries” into increasingly complex relationships. These relationships require that boundaries be there in the first place but at the same it time means that these boundaries cannot be so rigid that communication between the various “boundaries”, or entities, is not possible. Either extreme leads to grave complications and ultimately death itself.

On an individual level this means that an ego, a specific identity that wells up from within a body, must have boundaries to exist psycho-socially. Without an ego we would have only a blob of proto-plasm with no process of differentiation that can lead to higher-order organisms and eventually human beings. But simultaneously this “ego” must not be too impermeable. It must be firm enough that it can quickly learn to endure Shakespeare’s “thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.” And for this “learning” to take place, this ego must not become a fortress but must be open to the world outside of itself, it must be a “human” at some point, a social creature.

I would like to here share one tidbit from the book itself, an observation about the Iks culture from Uganda. Thomas argues that impingement from the outside, “modernity”, encroached so much and so quickly on these people that they could not function. They devolved into a very reproachable, detestable tribe of erstwhile human beings. Their talk with each other was rude and self-serving, they stopped singing, they lost emotional connection with their children, and they even would defecate on each other’s doorstep. Thomas’ intention here is a demonstration on what will happen on the collective level if the outside world does not respect the boundaries of a specific culture. And the impact that the “victim” culture experiences depends on two things—-1) its own “ego-integrity” (the ability to handle feedback from the outside) and 2) the rapacity of the outside world.

The above example illustrates the “abuse” that one culture, or even the “world culture” at large, can impose on a particular culture. It also vividly illustrates what can happen on the individual level if a child, in particular,  is abused—sexually, physically, and even emotionally . In human terms, the “soul” gets ravaged and often the soul cannot function meaningfully any longer or is at least gravely impaired.

Charles Williams on “bibliolatry”

Leave a reply

One of the basic problems with biblical literalism is that its adherents often take themselves too seriously, so seriously that if you examine them closely it often appears to be all about them.  Sometimes they use their faith to bludgeon others into submission, into believing “right.”  As Goethe noted, “They call is Reason, using light celestial, just to outdo the beasts in being bestial.”

People with this theological/spiritual stance transfer their activities from themselves as a center to their belief as a center.  They use their anger on behalf of their religion, and their morals, and their greed, and their fear, and their pride.  It operates on behalf of its notion of God as it originally operated on behalf of itself.  It aims honestly at better behavior, but it does not usually aim at change.  (paraphrased from Charles Williams, He Came Down from Heaven)

And this leaves their faith lumped with what the Apostle Paul called “the works of the flesh.”

Conspiracy Theory

2 Replies

I have a virulent disdain for conspiracy theories.  This stems from my youth where I imbibed a variety of conspiracies from my community, especially from my little church.  There was always the impending doom of “the communist conspiracy” that sought to overtake our country.  And on that note, I owned my own copy of John Stormer’s magnum opus, None Dare Call it Treason.  There were the “godless atheists” who wanted to destroy Christianity.  And there was a hefty dollop of anti-Catholicism conspiracy—the Pope waiting in a submarine off the coast on the eve of the 1960 election, ready to step ashore and take control of the government should Kennedy win.  And John Birch Society chatter was often in the air.  The “Tri-lateral Commission” was supposedly promoting “big government,” thus facilitating the ogre of them all, a “one-world government” that was an essential part of the “end-times” scenario.

Let me skip then to the 1990’s and Bill Clinton.  One of my all-time favorites was the notion then that Clinton was operating a drug-smuggling operation out of the tiny village of Mena, Arkansas.  And, most recently there is the falderal about O’Bama being a Muslim and not being an American citizen.

So, I have thrown the baby out with the bathwater and roundly dismiss anything that smells of “conspiracy theory.”  And I do this at my own peril; for, true enough, “conspiracies” do take place from time to time.

(Btw, one of the best books I’ve ever come across on this subject is Richard Hofstadner’s The Paranoid Style of American Politics)

Richard Rohr on Lent

Leave a reply

Richard Rohr in today’s Huffington Post (religion section) again addressed the issue of sham, enculturated religion, which people subscribe to to avoid reality, “everyday” reality as well as spiritual reality.  This is similar to the indictment of the church by Jacques Ellul about whom I blogged several days ago.

Rohr suggested that much of our religious experience consists of “self-help” pap that is often found in “motivational speeches.”  (And this is not to totally dismiss “self-help” or motivational speakers.)  With the Lent season in mind, Rohr posits the notion that “transformation” is what faith is about, not merely redecorating what the Apostle Paul described as “the flesh.”

His thoughts brought to my mind a residual blurb from my hyper-conservative religion past—someone accused most ministers of using their ministry as a “platform for the display of their carnal abilities.”  The writer was suggesting that many ministries…and the Christian life of many… was merely a “dog-and-pony” show for the fulfillment of one’s ego needs.

And, I might add that this “ego-needs” fulfillment issue is an issue for anyone with a spiritual impulse.  The ego is always there and is always needy.  I suspect that Paul might have had this in mind when he referred to his “torn in the flesh.”

When you get it figured out and resolved, let me know how to do it!

Below is the link though you will probably find the article easier by googling “Richard Rohr and Huffinton Post.”.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fr-richard-rohr/lent-is-about-transformation_b_1282070.html?ref=religion

Purity and Extremism

Leave a reply

I recently posted a review of Reza Aslan’s book Beyond Fundamentalism and explained how he takes to task all versions of extremism, though his focus was on Islamic fundamentalism.

He addressed the purity emphasis of the Jihadist movement, noting that the Jihadists “consider themselves to be the only true Muslims. All other Muslims are imposters or apostates who must repent of their ‘hypocrisy’ or be abandoned to their fate.” He goes into great detail re the rivalry and hostility within the Muslim extremists as each sect tends to attempt to set itself apart as “the true Muslim” faith.

I’m personally sensitive to this type of lunacy as I grew up in a Southern conservative Christian sect which taught that it was the only true church. And within that sect there was the same “purity” emphasis which included, of course, moral purity but also doctrinal purity. The latter in particular often gave rise to dissension and “splitting” of churches.

Purity is a dangerous notion.  But when it is overly emphasized, one needs to beware as lunacy is beckoning. To be human is to recognize ambivalence, to recognize the presence of good and bad in all human hearts. Those that can’t handle ambivalence gravitate toward some form of extremism.

I strongly recommend Mary Douglas’s book, Purity and Danger.  Douglas approaches the purity notion from an anthropological stance and provides insight into its origin and function in tribal cultures.  And her observations are relevant to our particular “tribe”.

Group think and lunacy

Leave a reply

Here is the most brilliant sociological analysis of group-think and the lunacy that it can lead to.  It features Tom Hanks, Chris Farley, Michael Myers, and the rest of the SNL gang from the early 90’s.  You must watch this as it is hilarious but also will bite you in the but for all human’s have this tendency to isolate themselves in the comfort of a smug group.  (Unfortunately, you will have to copy and paste the link into your address bar.)

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/mr-belvedere-fan-club/1354072/

 

Conservative-Liberal impasse

2 Replies

The meaning of “conservative”, at least in the political sense, means “to conserve.” The conservative presence is any culture wants to protect the status quo, including religion, politics, social mores, and economics. This is a valid historical phenomenon and needs respect. In its extreme, this “conservative” presence wants not only to maintain the status quo, but wants to do so with a vehemence. It fact, it often would like to return to an earlier, halcyon day when, in our case, “truth, justice, and the American way” prevailed.

The liberal presence wants change in the aforementioned categories. It sees the status quo as problematic and wants to bring about changes, often sweeping changes. If this force is not checked, it too can lead to problems.

When these two forces work in tandem, a society will have a dynamic quality that is necessary. When they are at loggerheads, problems are in the offing. If there can be no compromise, if there can be no respect for each other, then historically catastrophe has often been in that offing.

As Rodney King said, “Why can’t we just all get along.”

Turkey and Westernization

2 Replies

I am reading another book by a Turkish author, this time a female, Elif Shafak. She is a popular novelist in Turkey though this particular book, Black Milk, is a memoir regarding “Writing, motherhood, and the harem within.” Earlier in my blogging life, I “held forth” re another Turkish author, Orhan Pamuk, especially his novel, The Museum of Innocence. My selection of these two authors arose from a day I was fortunate to spend in Istanbul last spring where I marveled at the beauty of their country, the kindness of their people, and the pronounced Westernization of their culture.

When I got home last spring, I quickly did some “Wiki-pedi (ing)” of Turkey and of course their famous leader from the early 20th century, Kamel Ataturk. I did further on-line reading this morning re Ataturk and am even more astounding at how he brazenly ruled that country and almost single-handedly decided to put in on the course of “Westernization.”  Incidentally, the novels of Pamuk in particular frequently allude to this transformation of his country and often evoke a sense of sadness over the loss that many people still feel in his country as a result of Ataturk’s iron-fisted, though apparently benign, rule. I think the psycho-social terms for these feelings include “anomie”, “unrootedness”, “alienation”, and “depression.”

Part of me pines for the days when a country’s leader could, by force of will (personal and political), shape the direction of his country. I think of the many good things that someone like O’Bama could do if he had the power. But that is because, of course, I’m a liberal Democrat; and if O’Bama had this power then so could the next fellow/fellow-ess. That is not the world that we live in any more. That kind of power is a thing of the past…other than in totalitarian countries of course!

Unfortunately, we are now left with a mess, a partisan political environment in which significant changes cannot be made.

Let me close with a quotation from Ataturk which reflect his pronounced Western viewpoint:

Humankind is a single body and each nation a part of that body. We must never say ‘What does it matter to me if some part of the world is ailing?’ If there is such an illness, we must concern ourselves with it as though we were having that illness.

Gosh I hope Rick Perry checks in here today.

Republican identity crisis

1 Reply

It is fun to watch the Republicans re-define themselves even though that is not what they had, or have, in mind.  They have a real identity crisis on their hands and I hope I live long enough to see how it ends up.  They are now poised to nominate Romney and he is so foreign to their ideals.  And in their virulent hatred of him and what he represents, they have been forced to attack basic Republican ideals, i.e. standard “business” practices.

But re-definition is good for us all and is applicable to all political parties and all concerns.  As T. S. Eliot noted, “We wrestle with words and meanings” and one purpose in life is to “purify the dialect of the tribe.”

Now this is really mean-spirited of me.  But all of you….ahem, both of you…know that mean spiritedness is not above me—I just love the notion that extreme right-wing, bible-thumping, fundamentalist Christians might have to choose between Mitt Romney (a “Mormon”) and a liberal Democrat who happens to be a “black man.”  That will put them in a tough spot.  My money is on the liklihood they will vote for “the Mormon” over “the black man.”  Yes, that delimma will get their panties in a wad.