The curse of complacency, mediocrity and bullshit in democracies:

The curse of complacency, mediocrity and bullshit in democracies:

There are two unsustainable and aggressive ideologies with Messianic mission, which seem to be on a confrontational course with each other: The liberal democracy-with its unsustainable consumerism and human rights as its flagship- and Islam which is demographic unsustainable with its emphasis on spreading its faith and fighting the infidels. And we are adherents of one of them, poor we. We seem to know much of the failings and shortcomings of Islamic ideology and praxis, but how much do we know of our own ideology` failings?
While the Muslims have their minarets calling them to pray five times daily and keep their habitual focus in check, we have our minarets in the form of our mass media telling us ceaselessly on the bliss of being us, on our freedom, human rights, enlightenment, wise debates, the value of our culture describing our mundane- and not seldom petty- lives, our open mindedness and uniqueness. Both keep our ritualistic thinking intact and compulsive…Both make us kneel down for them…

In a strange manner, the citizens in democratic societies, who are supposed to be the freest of them all, seem to be inclined on accepting doctrines , which claim that lots of events out in the world are steered and guided by external forces , which the citizens have no influence on. That is to say , that the citizen can determine to a great extent his personal life, but h is not free to influence of what goes around him and relates to his life like economic busts, military interventions, political failure to act etc. It seems as in this kind of political order, there is nobody who can or has the right to control his motives and focus in events which are steered by external forces. In this sense citizens of democracies feel too weak as to affect macro processes , which makes them adapt theories that confirm that they are weak in this sense, and that they cannot control and guide these external events. This, our sophisticated naivety, castrates us mentally and makes it impossible for us to understand motives of people like Churchill, who could rise up to the challenge and was sure in- and focused on- his actions. What really happens for people in democracy is that the decision making is blurred by compromises on the verge of pettiness, and they lack any encouragement to practice heroism and megalopsychia. This is why most of us feel doomed to complacency and mediocrity, and this is why our leaders lack the vigor and wisdom of statesmen and remind us of quarrelsome and sleek merchants…and why democracy decays. Fortunately, it seems that more and more people disfavor Capitalism (Economist 9.-15.4.2011), a trend which can revitalize the democratic process, as it becomes less dependent on this greedy ideology.
But how we survive so far on this nutrition of complacency and mediocrity?
There are three great lies promoted by our liberal capitalistic democracy, which sustain us:
1) You are unique or can become unique through self realization.
2) You are free and enjoy fully your freedom. And
3) You can make a lasting difference in the world and thereby leave behind you a memorable legacy.
The lies become self evident when you confront them with the facts from your mundane reality;
1) You cannot become unique partly because if everybody is unique, it is very ordinary to be unique, and partly because you are just a little, easily disposable ´speck` in a mass society.
2) Freedom can be defined by changing contexts but it degenerates and become self destructive unless it is bound to responsibility beyond ones´ own interests and has some farsighted, sustainable and heroic elements in it .The freedom we experience is characterized by a secure, privileged and comfortable ordinary life and a political/ideational passivity on the verge of submission to the existing order. This freedom undermines the ecology of the planet and the future of coming generations. The freedom to express our meaning is meaningless if nobody notices them or they cannot be transformed into enduring changes. So our freedom is rather forlorn and not as attractive as it is presented. Basically almost all people in our societies are complacent, conform, lack a sense of heroism (democracy castrates this motive) and basically ordinary.
3) We live in a society based on mass production which is entirely dependent on growing consumption and the presentation of new goodies in ever growing tempo, be it material or cultural. That is to say that the shelf life of all the goodies in the modern world is very short, be it a book, a song, a debate, electronics etc. There is only a fraction of what we produce, utter or write down which will have enduring meaning for the next generations. Most of it- 99,99%- is doomed to oblivion.
So what is the morale of all this:
Our culture has taught us to believe in bullshit, and we have become complacent and mediocre bull shitters. Do we deserve it or deserve better? We deserve what we accept, and if not, only by following another path we will deserve better!

Til mine klienter:                                                 26.4.2011

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Med venlige hilsner

Klinisk psykolog

Benjamin Katz

Østerbrogade 142,1tv

Mobil -40767357

Gmail- katzbenja@gmail.com