Notes From A Small Island, Vol. 2 : Ideology...

[Cain]

Notes From A Small Island, Vol. 2 : Ideology is just a stick for beating people with.

There is something about watching Parliamentary debates and media commentary that makes my skin crawl.  Not just the rampant idiocy of most of the ,Äúdebates,Äù (though that plays a part too), its that each side can get through hours of ranting without actually adding anything at all.  You just get the usual garbage of ,Äúso and so is a do gooder,  wishy washy  PC dupe,Äù, or ,Äúsaid person is a reactionary fascist who would prefer we lived in the Dark Ages and hates people without white skin,Äù.

Politics has become polarised, but its more than that.  When you get past all the arguments, with all the historical evidence, picking a political philosophy has less to do with a belief and more to do with justifying your own attacks on someone.  For instance, the old use of ,Äúliberal,Äù as an insult, no so much that they are opposed to liberal philosophy, but because it upsets their status quo and they need their own ,Äústick,Äù to beat that threat with.

Equally, liberalism is no better.  Supported by people who are mostly poor and young and who express anger at the world being run by rich, old people, they too need their own stick.

In the end the politicians don,Äôt care one way or another.  The dichotomy between left/right politics just means they can pick a side and be guaranteed power if they are in the right area.  Only the few who ,Äútruly believe,Äù are sent out the swing areas, the political no-mans land where they soon become cynical or are weeded out.

Of course, this doesn,Äôt just apply to politics.  Religion is a prime example, be it Islam, Judaism or Discordianism.  Christianity is used to bash on the Jews, a product of a power play within Israelite priestly politics.  Islam united Arabia to smash the Christian Romans.  It comes down to either crushing an elite or maintaining one.  It always has done, history is nothing but competing power structures, justifying their reasons through the cloak of ideology.  Belief in said system went out thousands of years ago, if indeed anyone ever did believe in the first place.  And nowadays they,Äôve become too ,Äúsophisticated,Äù, or cynical, to bother in keeping up the charade.

And we,Äôre no different.  For whatever reason we have our own issues, we hate the ordinary and despise the rule bound and expected.  Discordianism is our own ,Äústick,Äù for bashing people like that, for making us feel better about ourselves, ,Äúyeah I may be a weirdo but at least I ain,Äôt a cabbage/greyface!,Äù  We play along and mouth the slogans in order to achieve our own ends, just like all the others.  You get the idea.  Of course, I could be totally wrong about Discordians and just talking again about my compulsive need to break shit needing justification.

[ataraxia]

Sure, all political views suck. That's why I'm a Centrist: I support the underdogs who represent whatever if most absent from govt/society at the moment, unless I see some reason not to. Then I do something else.

Religion I generally don't support, although I have an irrational, residual fondness for Pagans in general. Never said I was perfect either.

And I enjoy being a weirdo.  

[fluffy]

gives cain a big stick



and a mirror
for when he is having trouble finding someone to bash with his stick

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Sure, all political parties suck.

Fixed that for you.