Every time there is some atrocity which contradicts the narrative of political correctness and reveals that the Western leadership is strategically operating to destroy the West; the mass media employ their range of cover-up techniques: ignoring the incident, drowning reports in boring bureaucratic prose (full of complex nuances, qualifications, and the use of 'alleged'), or someone whom the media dislike is blamed (right wing/ white nationalist extremists, Christians), or the focus fatalistically and despair-inducingly placed on people's misery, rather than what actually happened...
Or the focus is on the danger of 'backlash'.
The mass media are obviously terrified that if the Masses get to hear about what is going on in a timely and clear way - then they will 'backlash' - that is the Masses will rise-up and... well, put a stop to it... somehow.
In this they overestimate the Masses; as does almost everyone.
Nowadays, in The West, incidents and atrocities occur quite frequently which would - in the past - have caused instant and decisive reversal of policies, major changes of law, mass riots, civil wars, indeed inter-national wars - and nowadays they provoke... nothing at all.
The ruling Leftist elites are concerned that the Masses will rise-up and thwart them in their revolutionary projects - they are wasting their time: it won't happen.
The Right wing opposition are hoping and encouraging the Masses to rise-up and thwart the Left: they are wasting their time: it won't happen.
The Western Masses are inert, cowardly, ineffectual - they get reality from the media, they don't believe common sense, they don't even believe the evidence of their own eyes.
The Western Masses are utterly demotivated: they won't do anything about anything unless there is a payoff in instant diversion or hedonism... and even then, they would probably rather get intoxicated.
It used to be said of some measure that public opinion 'would not stand for it' - he fact is that THE problem is the Western Masses have proven, again and again, that they will stand for anything.
Given that this is a fact, and that it will lead to the continuation of a strategy of utter and deliberate destruction of all Good things in the West by the Leftist Establishment - what is to be done?
What is needed is Motivation.
Where does motivation come from? The answer is given by considering where did motivation go?
My inference is that motivation went when religion died as an effective force in the West. It seems to me that the Masses of all Religious societies are a force to be reckoned with; but in non-religious societies they are not a force to be reckoned with: they are not any kind of force at all.
This fact does not, of course, mean that people can or should become religious in order to find motivation. That is not a reason to become religious - it is certainly not a reason to become Christian.
But the fact that the Masses, since the end of Christianity, have become so utterly contemptible in their short-termist, hedonic, bovine placidity should at least be noted as a consequence.
And people might reflect that if subtraction of Christianity from a culture can lead to the Masses ignoring gross and lethal atrocities occurring, repeatedly, on their own doorsteps: then maybe, perhaps, there was something to be said for Christianity after all...?
"And people might reflect that if subtraction of Christianity from a culture can lead to the Masses ignoring gross and lethal atrocities occurring, repeatedly, on their own doorsteps: then maybe, perhaps, there was something to be said for Christianity after all...?"
ReplyDeleteI think you are over - estimating the masses Bruce. That last sentence is far too complicated to be thought of by most people and it would be too hard, and pointless from their perspective anyway. As far as most of the masses are concerned, they don't see the horrendous state of modern world as having anything to do with the loss or absence of religion, rather the decline of Christianity is viewed as an emancipation and good riddance to that kind of medieval nonsensical oppressive thinking! Or as one Clinical Psychology doctorate student put to me in her parting words on leaving to 'progress' in her studies at University: "Now all we need to do is get rid of Religion and the world will be a better place for everyone." I am fairly confident this militant atheism is fairly standard issue nowadays. Any attempt to highlight the many merits of Religion for groups or societies I have ever made in a public forum have been howled down contemptuously with mostly irrelevant and emotive counter-examples of Islamic fundamentalism and Catholic church corruption and child abuse scandals being all the evidence that is apparently necessary to show to any decent honest person that Religion is the root of all evil to its very core!
@David - This blog is not addressing the Masses!
ReplyDeleteNothing illustrates the hedonism and short termism of modern life more acutely than the violent protests against government spending cuts and 'austerity'. It seems the only thing that can generate violent outrage is the threat of withdrawal of public funds and the possibility of a marginally worse standard of living. Nothing else generates this level of violent outrage. Not the destruction of the social fabric or national identity. Not the destruction of other rights or freedoms.
ReplyDelete@M - I would regard those 'protests' as office politics (or what are called Astroturf) - they are within-elite disputes.
ReplyDeleteIf the only real source of motivation is religion, how was it possible to eliminate religion? If religion cannot even motivate people to keep their source of motivation (religion), then how can religion motivate them to do anything else?
ReplyDeleteI will also note that pride and hate remain effective sources of motivation, and I will be surprised if it does not occur to anyone in the West that they could whip up pride and hatred amongst the masses in order to seize power. If this results in a Franco-like regime - authoritarian and Christian-friendly - well, that's better than what we have, which is anti-Christian authoritarian Leftism.
@JP - It was possible to eliminate religion by the usual method for inducing addiction: 'bribery' - that is, by offering short term, immediate gratification (of several types including consumerism, intoxication, novelty, fun and distraction; but mainly sexual) at the cost of long term fulfillment.
ReplyDeleteWhat was good about Franco's regime were factors absent from today's scene - Christian piety, and the military virtues such as courage and discipline.
If someone can whip up pride and hatred long enough to achieve anything using the Western Masses, I fear the result would just be more pride and hatred. Garbage in: garbage out.
"My inference is that motivation went when religion died as an effective force in the West. It seems to me that the Masses of all Religious societies are a force to be reckoned with; but in non-religious societies they are not a force to be reckoned with: they are not any kind of force at all."
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Mao Zedong's push for anti-religiosity.
@ Bruce Charlton
ReplyDelete"What was good about Franco's regime were factors absent from today's scene - Christian piety, and the military virtues such as courage and discipline."
Agreed. You have to have BOTH of those things. One on its own is not enough. That explains the decline of Christianity - without the military virtues Christianity is helpless and may even be a negative force in the sense that it turns into wishy-washy Kumbaya Christianity.