Fundamentalism
What has gone wrong? When did America become such a hateful, divided country? When did people become so certain that they were right that they no longer find it necessary to listen to anybody with a differing point of view? There’s people on the left and people on the right, red states and blue states, Christians and Muslims, Evolutionists and Creationists, Pro-life and Pro-choice. The list is seemingly endless. And all of them are absolutely certain they are right. They believe, fundamentally, that they can’t be wrong.
It is not just that they can’t be wrong; it’s that they won’t even consider the possibility. It is not what they believe in, then, that is so right or wrong, it is how they believe it; it is their fundamentalism.
The true evil, then, is fundamentalism.
Fundamentalism is the belief that you are absolutely right. Your sense of right can be based on god, history, common sense (whatever that might be), a cerial box, or whatever. It doesn't matter. No matter what you believe is ultimately right, then any compromise is ultimately wrong. Diversity is wrong. Differing points of view, differing opinions are all wrong. Any divergence from obtaining the ultimate goal, the ultimate right, cannot be tolerated. It doesn’t even matter how you came to believe in your rightness. Ultimately, if you are absolutely right, then any means is justified by the ends. Death, torture, lying, cheating are all acceptable if, in the end, it leads to the total establishment of whatever you fundamentally believe to be right, to be true. The good of the many outweighs the suffering of the few. Or worse, the good of the righteous few outweighs the suffering of the many.
Virtually all atrocities, almost every horrible thing one group of people has done to another, can be very quickly traced to fundamentalism. You can defend yourself with uncertainty; you can enter a conflict that already exists with trepidation (and, in fact, you should), but to start a war almost always involves the belief that you are absolutely right.
It is wrong, therefore, to believe fundamentally about anything, whether it is religious, political, philosophical, or whatever. Anybody who claims to be absolutely right should be feared, should be shunned. Anybody who claims to know the will of god should be laughed at for having such unmitigated hubris. For the only thing any of us can know for certain is that we can never be absolutely certain.
It is unlikely that you will ever change anyone who is truly enveloped in fundamentalist thought. By a weird twist of logic, if you are absolutely right, then you cannot even conceive of the possibility that you are wrong. Truly, to accept the possibility that you might be wrong means that you are.
Therefore, it becomes necessary that we recognize it in ourselves. We must resist the thought, the belief, that we are ultimately right.
The Fundamentalist Self-Check List
Don’t trust any religious belief that doesn’t encourage you to question, to doubt, or any religious belief that imbues its followers to know that they are absolutely right.
Don’t trust any religious belief that thinks vengeance is defensible.
Don’t trust any religious belief that thinks greed can be justified.
It is wrong to judge in the name of god.
It is wrong to kill the defenseless, regardless of what they may have done, or may do.
It is wrong to believe you can’t be wrong (Yes, I realize that this is a contradiction, but then, I realize I might be wrong).
Don’t trust anybody who’s ever participated in a genocide, or believes a genocide can be justified, including god.
Question any religion that justifies hatred of anything, even evil.
It is unwise to take anything literally.
Nothing written by humans should ever be taken as the unquestionable word of god, even if god helped them write it.
And above all, don’t trust anybody who is willing to think for you.
It is not just that they can’t be wrong; it’s that they won’t even consider the possibility. It is not what they believe in, then, that is so right or wrong, it is how they believe it; it is their fundamentalism.
The true evil, then, is fundamentalism.
Fundamentalism is the belief that you are absolutely right. Your sense of right can be based on god, history, common sense (whatever that might be), a cerial box, or whatever. It doesn't matter. No matter what you believe is ultimately right, then any compromise is ultimately wrong. Diversity is wrong. Differing points of view, differing opinions are all wrong. Any divergence from obtaining the ultimate goal, the ultimate right, cannot be tolerated. It doesn’t even matter how you came to believe in your rightness. Ultimately, if you are absolutely right, then any means is justified by the ends. Death, torture, lying, cheating are all acceptable if, in the end, it leads to the total establishment of whatever you fundamentally believe to be right, to be true. The good of the many outweighs the suffering of the few. Or worse, the good of the righteous few outweighs the suffering of the many.
Virtually all atrocities, almost every horrible thing one group of people has done to another, can be very quickly traced to fundamentalism. You can defend yourself with uncertainty; you can enter a conflict that already exists with trepidation (and, in fact, you should), but to start a war almost always involves the belief that you are absolutely right.
It is wrong, therefore, to believe fundamentally about anything, whether it is religious, political, philosophical, or whatever. Anybody who claims to be absolutely right should be feared, should be shunned. Anybody who claims to know the will of god should be laughed at for having such unmitigated hubris. For the only thing any of us can know for certain is that we can never be absolutely certain.
It is unlikely that you will ever change anyone who is truly enveloped in fundamentalist thought. By a weird twist of logic, if you are absolutely right, then you cannot even conceive of the possibility that you are wrong. Truly, to accept the possibility that you might be wrong means that you are.
Therefore, it becomes necessary that we recognize it in ourselves. We must resist the thought, the belief, that we are ultimately right.
The Fundamentalist Self-Check List
Don’t trust any religious belief that doesn’t encourage you to question, to doubt, or any religious belief that imbues its followers to know that they are absolutely right.
Don’t trust any religious belief that thinks vengeance is defensible.
Don’t trust any religious belief that thinks greed can be justified.
It is wrong to judge in the name of god.
It is wrong to kill the defenseless, regardless of what they may have done, or may do.
It is wrong to believe you can’t be wrong (Yes, I realize that this is a contradiction, but then, I realize I might be wrong).
Don’t trust anybody who’s ever participated in a genocide, or believes a genocide can be justified, including god.
Question any religion that justifies hatred of anything, even evil.
It is unwise to take anything literally.
Nothing written by humans should ever be taken as the unquestionable word of god, even if god helped them write it.
And above all, don’t trust anybody who is willing to think for you.
posted by The Holy Grail Press at 1:36 PM
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