Friday, February 09, 2007
Ugly Religious Mobs
(2)
I'm usually disappointed to see that my drunken alter ego of last week has saddled me with some or other task, and tonight is no exception. Or is it? I like the idea of being 'hired by God as a consultant.' God obviously needs a modern consultant in a modern world, and I am well qualified. The job does not pay well, but what most matters to me is that I enjoy it. And it isn't just that I get to advise God - an ego reward - but that I might be able to make a difference. And God unfortunately neglected to (tap) include a 'non-disclosure clause' in our agreement, which makes it even more interesting. So: I now have an ironclad contract with God to be His Personal Consultant with no strings attached. Lucky you. I will follow up on this thread in due time. Stay tuned.
Then there's the concept of 'mob religion.' I claim that 'mob religion' is a bad idea.
In the first place there is nothing pretty about a mob. Mobs are ugly. One thing which makes mob A uglier than mob B is what I call 'mob purity.' That is to say, 'the purer your mob the uglier.' Pure mobs are uglier than impure mobs. For example, mobs which are segrated by sex are uglier than mobs which are not so segregated. Sexually integrated mobs are less ugly. Sexual diversity tends to beautify a mob. This fundamental aspect of mob esthetics applies in other ways, for example, race. Racial mobs are ugly. The ugliness of such mobs tends to be undermined by ethnic diversity. Ugly racial mobs tend to become less ugly as racial diversity increases.
Religious Mobs are ugly. Even though such mobs might contain appropriate sexual and racial diversity they remain ugly because they are mobs which otherwise lack redeeming social value.
I should mention that Religious mobs are really a subset of Cultural Mobs (not mentioned above), but since Religion is usually the most prominent aspect of Culture - on a par with Language - and since Culture is a much broader human category, I have bypassed that broad category and gone directly to one of the most defining aspects of culture. Which brings us back to the subject, 'ugly religious mobs.'
I'm usually disappointed to see that my drunken alter ego of last week has saddled me with some or other task, and tonight is no exception. Or is it? I like the idea of being 'hired by God as a consultant.' God obviously needs a modern consultant in a modern world, and I am well qualified. The job does not pay well, but what most matters to me is that I enjoy it. And it isn't just that I get to advise God - an ego reward - but that I might be able to make a difference. And God unfortunately neglected to (tap) include a 'non-disclosure clause' in our agreement, which makes it even more interesting. So: I now have an ironclad contract with God to be His Personal Consultant with no strings attached. Lucky you. I will follow up on this thread in due time. Stay tuned.
Then there's the concept of 'mob religion.' I claim that 'mob religion' is a bad idea.
In the first place there is nothing pretty about a mob. Mobs are ugly. One thing which makes mob A uglier than mob B is what I call 'mob purity.' That is to say, 'the purer your mob the uglier.' Pure mobs are uglier than impure mobs. For example, mobs which are segrated by sex are uglier than mobs which are not so segregated. Sexually integrated mobs are less ugly. Sexual diversity tends to beautify a mob. This fundamental aspect of mob esthetics applies in other ways, for example, race. Racial mobs are ugly. The ugliness of such mobs tends to be undermined by ethnic diversity. Ugly racial mobs tend to become less ugly as racial diversity increases.
Religious Mobs are ugly. Even though such mobs might contain appropriate sexual and racial diversity they remain ugly because they are mobs which otherwise lack redeeming social value.
I should mention that Religious mobs are really a subset of Cultural Mobs (not mentioned above), but since Religion is usually the most prominent aspect of Culture - on a par with Language - and since Culture is a much broader human category, I have bypassed that broad category and gone directly to one of the most defining aspects of culture. Which brings us back to the subject, 'ugly religious mobs.'
