I have been thinking about this, the combination of
religion and politics…….
what is the value of either one? for example, the value of religion is to
allow someone to know their place in the universe………
for example, by religious means, you can know where your position in the
universe is…… either you are part of the “saved” and if you are not religious,
you are not “saved”… that creates a place in the universe for people…….
you know where you “stand” in regards to the universe…
that is the true value of religion… it creates a understanding of
where you stand in the universe. This is very helpful in a confused
and chaotic universe… this is another way of saying, in the “modern world”
we have lost the guidelines, the milepost that people have used for centuries
to create an understanding of where one fits into society and in the universe…
people now hang on to religion even more then before because of this
loss of the guidelines/milepost that people have used before……….
and the use of political terms, “liberals” and “conservative” is another
means to create “certainty” in our understanding of where we fit into
the universe…….
think of it like one of those line graphs we see, a box that has the center
line, vertical, and a center line, horizontal, and we can then graph
where we are… this is basically what our political and religious
personal understanding does for us… it creates a box where we
can understand where we are in the universe… with line graphs,
we can center where we are or where we exist in the universe…
it creates meaning in our own personal understanding of who we are…
we are “liberals” or we are “conservatives” or we are “god-fearing” people
or we don’t believe in god… all of which creates an understanding
of where we fit into the universe…….
so let us return to the problem at hand, people are dammed and determined
to hold on to their political/religious beliefs because it creates an understanding
of who they are………………. so this explains why the “trump” supporter is so dam
and determine to proclaim themselves “MAGA” supporters because it creates
a place in the universe for themselves……………. if they change positions,
then where would they exists in the universe? their political/religious positions,
are the means they identify themselves……… Take that away and by what means
would people identify themselves? It is a cheap and easy way to create identity
in people……. by labeling themselves as “conservatives” or “liberal” or “religious”
or “not religious” they create an understanding……a worldview……
so is “Islam” or “Christianity” or “Buddhism” or “Hinduism” evil?
No, because the label of being Muslim or Buddhist or Christian,
is to create a place in the universe for the believer…….
it is the adaptation of values used to create a worldview of the
universe…………
and like any value, the person who clings desperately to such values
is the person who is in fear and desires a place in the universe……
almost any value could be used to create a home in the universe
especially values, myths, habits, prejudices and superstitions of
our childhood…… they are comfortable for us because we
have had those worldviews since childhood…
so the Christian who desperately clings to his god, is someone
who needs that belief, that worldview, to allow them to
understand their place in the universe……………
it is not the need for the religious belief as much as the need
to know one’s place in the universe that is important……
the belief is less important then the need for the belief…
the belief is just a means to allow one to be able to understand their
place in the universe……………….
this explains the desperate need for people to claim a religion or
a political belief as it creates a understanding of the universe………
so what beliefs do you have that help explain your understanding
of your place in the universe?
Kropotkin