Our thoughts and behaviors have no doubt been shaped by whatever church our distant relatives once belonged to. Whether we adhere to the strictness and unnatural demands of religion x, Those judgmental sentiments have nonetheless shaped our governments, family units, and neighbors. As soon as a child questions or doubts the convictions of his or her elders, rejection, punishment, or at the very least palpable discomfort is thrust onto the inquisitive youth. It is no surprise as the parents do unto others as the Church and Government has done unto them. What does this lead to though?
The fear that slowly consumes one from the inside like a dye throughout water is unnatural. It is produced and in the modern world, manufactured, so that the result is a community in which neighbors are fearful of each other. Neighbors that are even fearful of themselves, and fearful of spontaneous thought, of coloring outside of the lines so to speak. What kind of society is this? A society in which seeming as similar to one's neighbor as possible is the least fearful route one can take. The citizens are clones, subservient to whatever established order the government or church has deemed acceptable. How dull it must be. The alternative requires a sense of individuality that is developed on such a minor scale within society due to this aforementioned. For just moment, though, imagine a society in which individuals feel freedom and is not fearful, but rather engages it. They feel free to follow their thoughts as they rise and fall without looking over their shoulder for the disdain of familial eyes. Echoing Russel, to explore individuality too forcefully, results in the same mundane feeling as being a clone. How to accomplish this within a society run like a fear machine, is not elaborated upon within the Conquest of Happiness, but perhaps truly cannot be generalized into a 12 steps to happiness pamphlet to "fit" everyone and their nuances.
It's no coincidence that a conformist culture is also riven by fear. Thankfully, some of us have had the experience of being nurtured by parents and teachers who genuinely supported our explorations, doubts, and questions. Sadly, many of our politicians and opinion-makers evidently did not.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if we need a self-help guide to surviving in a time of xenophobic fear, or if a good one can be written. But it all starts at home, and then school. Wouldn't it be a good experiment, to raise a generation on philosophy from the beginning?