This entry is totally inspired by the following sermon:
"History is written by the victors". Or so the saying goes. A number of other sayings allude to the same thing.
"The powerful are heroes because they are powerful" says the beetle Don Durito.
"Who controls the present, controls the past. Who controls the past, controls the future," says the Orwellian mantra.
The consequences?
"yes sir, yes sir!"
Salute
"Shoot that guy over there"
Sheep turn into cogs and springs; mindless tools of the machine.
"Hit this button"
Drop a bomb.
"God bless America!"
Cleanse your mind. Construct your mind. This is your soul.
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"
Buy this,
Throw it away.
Buy this,
Throw it away.
"See that? They're not like you."
They are them.
See yourself.
"yes sir, yes sir"
Salute
"I pledge allegiance"
Sheep turn into cogs and springs; mindless tools of the machine.
The construction of history, that is to say, the control of societal perceptions and understandings, IS control. Savagery becomes nobility. Slavery becomes freedom. The poor become greedy. War becomes peace. Massacres become victories. Evil becomes good. Good becomes evil. We and them.
The truth, or something close to it, is there. Thanks to yesterday and today's voices of dissent, we can see that the emperor has no clothes. The focus, therefore, is on the manipulation of history in order to control thought. Religion (Christianity as it were in this case) is the same. Just as those who seek power use history for perception management, power can use, and does use, religion for the same ends.
This thesis is in early formation; there are obvious differences; function, motives, and application. The parallels in hypocrisy, however, are enough to formulate such a connection.
Consider Jesus' Sermon on the Mount . . .
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
As Kurt Vonnegut said, "not exactly Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney stuff . . . 'blessed are the merciful', in a courtroom? 'Blessed are the peacemakers', in the pentagon!?!"
Then consider mainstream Christianity and its moral and political applications in our society. Pat Robertson (the 700 club guy) called for an assassination of a democratically elected leader on national television. Joel Osteen (the "prosperity preacher"), who speaks to over 7 million weekly followers, preaches that material success is a reward from God. Political debate likes to center around gay couples and whether or not they can have a piece of paper that says they get some recognition of being a couple. Or whether or not a statue can say something about God. Or to make sure a "holiday tree" remains a Christmas tree. Or whether or not scientists can try and save peoples lives using human cells. (I'll sidestep abortion, which I view a little differently than some of the other so-called "moral" issues). *I should point out that the issue here is not whether or not these are debatable issues, or issues without reason, or religious grounds. The issue is whether these are the things that should be centered on.
Other actions and beliefs are more extreme. For example, Christians standing steadfast with the state of Israel, who last year, murdered thousands of people, targeting schools, hospitals, and U.N. buildings with bombs and chemical weapons. Nationalistic idolatry and consumerism are also practices that fly in the face of the teachings of Christ.
Fortunately, just as Howard Zinn and the beetle Don Durito confront the stamped version of history, so can Christian teachings (and other religions and belief systems) subvert current perversions. Leo Tolstoy, who focuses on non-violent means to subvert the power of state and private capital, is certainly a good example.
This irony of religious application to society is illustrated in last chapter of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Two socialists argue about the role of religion in society. One suggests the church clouds and manipulates the mind from the truth. The other suggests the teachings of Christ follow the moral principles of what a decent society should be.
Fire can heat your house, or burn it down.
These are ideas I've wrestled with for some time. Setting aside existentialism and philosophical ideas on truth and reality, here, it is the focus of how things like Christianity can be applied and used as the motivational construct for compassion rather than self-righteousness.
Which brings me to the latest sign of the subversion of power through Christianity (as opposed to the obvious hypocrisy that tends to dominate the discourse); the sermon I mentioned above. If you have a half an hour to spare, listen to it. (It starts out slow, but after a while, he'll kick you in the face). It certainly runs counter to many of the prevailing attitudes of what it means to be a Christian (as it should).
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