The Ideology Trap


For some reason humans are prone to hide in ideological rabbit holes, ignoring sensory impressions from the real world.
It must be based on a sense of comfort derived from sharing the same hole with like minded folks, creating a collective fairy land.
Very few people are prepared to stand their ground against the mindset of the flock, and put up with the consequences.
The interesting thing is that some people with diametrically opposing beliefs with regards to an issue are happy to claim martyr status in regards to their own cause and proceed to try and kill each other with glee.
What do they have in common?
A desire to escape from the real world, for reasons not even known to themselves, in many cases.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I have a hunch

Russian progress in the invasion of Ukraine is not going to plan. That is evident from negotiations between the warring parties as I write this piece. I have seen photos of burned out military vehicles and speculate that they are Russian. Back during the end days of WWII when Soviet armour invaded Germany from the east, Germans were issued with large numbers of shoulder mounted anti tank weapons to help slow down the onslaught: Strategically positioned, one man could take out a Soviet tank in short order. And that happened. Fast forward to Ukraine, shoulder mounted missile launchers are an order of magnitude more effective than in WWII with smart missiles actively seeking their targets over the course of their trajectory. Sitting inside a tank these days, is sort of like being a knight in shiny armour, in the face of a lead ball from a musket. The tank becomes your coffin.
Read more

Metaphysical speculation

. George Orwell (Eric Blair), the famous author of "Animal Farm" and "1984", among other works, used to work in the British Imperial Civil Service during his early years, as a policeman in Burma, as I recall. A statement he made in reflecting upon that time in his life, when a local person was executed for something he had done, has stuck with me: "A universe ceased to exist" Over the years, that statement has given me pause for reflection on many a time, especially following a car accident in 2011 when I was knocked out cold for about half an hour and took some time to realize where I was and what had happened. One way to 'look' at things is as follows: What we perceive, feel and understand is a product of our material bodily structure and the many forces acting upon same. 'The Universe' is an aggregate of the above and give us a sense of who and what we are within the grander scheme of things. Now, let's put ourselves into the shell
Read more

Smelly cities

Watching a video of Imperial Rome reminded me of an experience I had visiting Singapore in 1971. Staying overnight in a modern hotel on the outskirts of the downtown, I ventured into the heart of the old city where narrow cobblestone streets had an open sewer running down the middle. In fact, if you approached the downtown from downwind, you could smell it a mile away. Eventually you get used to it but the initial impact is quite powerful. And so it was in Imperial Rome, a city with some 1 million people, many of whom lived in poverty and squalor. A hive of activity and breeding ground for all manner of infectious diseases. On the other side of the ledger, I lived in the City of Baghdad in 1961 where dry heat day temperatures in the summer ranged between 40 and 50 degrees Celsius. It did not have open sewers (the water would likely have evaporated) but the smell was so different, and not unpleasant, that I experienced it in my dreams long after having returned to Norway.
Read more