Any structure
that nurtures systems that degrades humans is a constant threat to humanity. Secularism
is an idea that was initiated with egalitarian intention of providing freedom
to practice and propagate faith, that essentially regress into oppressive
systems of religion. Religion isolates from reality into fantastical fictions
that animated minds of people many centuries back. To put faith in these anachronistic
systems (indeed ridiculous and juvenile if the harm is not this severe), that
once assuaged the terrified ignorant souls with mounting uncertainties and threats,
negates understandings and progress of last few decades hence severely degrades
human capacity for critical thinking and connect to everchanging exciting
reality. Religion seeks to trap and ossify mind into catacombs of dead thoughts
and meaningless ways. It preys on human spiritual urges and natural fear of
unknown. It extends solace and security but extracts heavy price on humanity. It is segregating and branding humans, increasing
source of degradation, and is a major reason for strife among perfectly normal
and decent humans with all their faculties alive being turned into snarling herds
or tolerating actors devoid of basic sensibilities that defines humans. Faculties
that developed critical thinking and ability to extrapolate data and facts into
precious knowledge and understanding are being compromised. Verifiable
evidences authenticated through science, rational inquiry and modern technologies are being
questioned without any logic or even basic understanding of premise or skills of
argumentation. It is as if everything is being reduced to a battle of binary. In
primitive societies this battle is between religions while in more civilized societies
religion pose itself as victim to reign in the herd.
Religion creates
individuals who pendulate between fate and entitlements. Beggar minds incapacitated
to use their faculties they are led and deluded into fantastical narration and are easily exploited. The rise of fake news and easy
acceptance of conspiracy theories points to herd's incapacity to handle reality.
Evolved thoughts -democratic institutions being byproduct, cannot nurture such
systems that seeks to convert humans into herds for the simple reason that
herds are threat to democratic institutions, they constantly weaken egalitarian
efforts and make democracy meaningless. Hard earned values of liberty and
equality that defines humanity and nurtures individuals to their potential and
possibilities is severely negated. Democratic values thrive with open mind, debates,
discussions and interactions. Communication cannot happen when the other is not
free and doesn’t matter when the other is incapacitated to use mental faculties
hence cannot be equal. Communication happens and thoughts shared when people
are free to express and think, assert their liberty and are placed in framework of equality.
This breakdown of communication leads to prejudices, bigotry, and further
spiraling of conspiracy theories among herds. This then severely impacts the
functioning of democratic institutions and threatens the basic foundation of
society.
Religion has become an assault on humanity and contemporary sensibilities hence idea of secularism has become meaningless and oppressive. State cannot be a bystander when degrading system encroaches into vibrant spaces of humanity and attempts to create staid barren lands of god’s wishes, commands and swift repercussions for erring. Its pertinent to point out that all religions are not same though they all have the same pernicious potential to degrade into exploitable herds. Despite the strife the commonalities are more pronounced than the differences. Christianity has had devastating impact on humanity in the last few centuries through dark ages, colonial exploitations and racism -the pernicious slave system and apartheid. But reaction to Christianity gave space to reforming movements and renaissance, it gave space to modern developments as well as exploitations. Independent thinking and philosophies helped to consolidate and institutionalize ideas of liberty and freedom, democracy and modern values that help assert human rights. Connection to reality, hence observation skills, gave primacy to logical thinking and foundation of science through systematic studies. Though Christianity remains potently dehumanizing -in its varying degradation from gay rights to anti-abortion so on it has provided lots of space for protest and ridicule hence template to deal. The world though face serious threat from gun totting white supremacists as they encroach into institutions of powerful nation like USA. This is a live threat and has the potential to take the nation into civil war. Other religions have undergone reformation in varying degree but not to the extend of Christianity. Hinduism, though lacking a single rallying point and is dependent on outside to define and play victim, is a potent degradation that would shudder humanity to its core for its depravities. It has converted a vast population into fatalist herd who gnaw and brutalize each other. It has nurtured some extremely devious inbred people with highest estimation of themselves and entitlements hence infected with acute savior syndrome. Though caste cannibals have spread across the world their damage is limited by lack of spread and insular nature. Other religions like Jews, Buddhism, Shintoism, Sikhism etc. too are limited hence the degrading impact is confined. Not denying that where the numbers are more these have the same potential to degrade and dehumanize whether Hindus in India or Jews in Israel or Buddhists in Myanmar (though Buddhism negates god hence takes the sting out of degrading potential but the herds converted buddha into god and nurtured the degradation of religion). That brings us to Islam which carries all the horrors that religion as dehumanizing system presents, it’s being transported across with all its regressive ways intact without any questioning or scrutiny. The spread, reach and definite rallying point of miracle book and its pernicious references and interpretations makes it a live threat to every cherished ideas, enlightened thoughts and humanistic concerns. Religion is a threat to humanity and Islam represents the threat and immediacy since it is being mollycoddled as representation of minority and pushed in as beleaguered to a large part of the world. With its spread it has been persistently presenting problems to humanity, it is degrading democratic institutions, challenging human rights and undermining evolved thoughts. It is creating reactionary and regressive forces in other religions too -not that they need any provocation but yes an alibi to consolidate. Instead of pointing out the problem it is being presented as stand point for tolerance and lynchpin for adherence to democracy and freedom. Miseries cannot be delegated to common people since elite want to work out a narration to showcase themselves as benign meanwhile very much complicit in maintaining systems that bomb and exploit common people.
Its
dehumanizing to identify humans through religion. It needs to be seen as
personal choice and private matter. Secularism is a natural way to humanism
hence ideas of secularism should have seen to it that state has no business to
do with religion, and made every effort to negate it from public space as also stifle
its effort to entrap common people. Ideally human beings were expected to evolve into these through increased understanding and thinking. Minority protection is an important
component of civilized world and defining aspect of democracy but unfortunately, and frustratingly, it is usurped by religion and has redefined enlightened
intent into its credulities. Minority ideas, the way these are held, expressed
and understood needs protection. Ideas that majority find problematic but holds
an evolved view to humanity needs protection and nurturing. Take for instance
the issue of LGBTQ and understand how religion works to degrade while this
minority idea holds that humans have choices that must be respected. Humanity
thrives if these ideas are cherished. That is how minority needs to be defined.
To tolerate anachronistic and violating religion is also numbing senses to
protest against what is wrong and encroaching into humanity. To tolerate such violation
on cherished values makes us less human hence must be resisted.
There are
entrenched powers that have gained by keeping humans segregated and dehumanized
into herds, these powerbrokers gain from status quo of degradation. They have
manipulated egalitarian values into euphemism of transactions for short term
gains. Devious elite section control narration (akin to Marxian controlling means
of production), and in effect history of humanity is how these controls are
expressed. As the societies moved from feudal to market to virtual the
narrative control is where the power struggle is. These narrative controls are
used to extract benefits and penalized those who stray. It is how deep state
spreads its tentacles through democratic institutions, media and all
expressions of power. Take for instance the monarchy patriotism narration that
is controlled by deep state in Britain. Despite patently feudal and against democratic
principles, hence humanity, these are pushed through control over narration.
Protagonist changes and contexts vary but deep state’s control over the
narration remains. It deals severely with any attempts to question the
narration and distributes largesse generously for adhering to the same (for
instance, the stampede for gandhian narrative benefits by worst kinds of people). They
have consolidated narration for religion, defined religiophobia and explained minority
protection that everyone is expected to adhere to despite glaring lacunas,
untold misery to common people and severely degrading democratic institutions
and cherished values. There is clearly an attempt to pander religion. Extolling
religion is how benefits are accrued from deep state. Degraded societies are
example where power, positions, literature, art…all extol religion for gain without
critically examining nor any care or concern. This then give primacy to
mediocrity and status quo exploitation hence nurture hypocrisy and apathy. Religion tarnishes the aesthetics of truth. It introduces ugliness of false absolutes.
Feudal
cunning elite have been using religions to control people. Already reactionary
forces accentuated by destabilizing climate concerns and pandemic are playing
havoc. Humanity must assert that the system that is intolerant cannot be a
reference to tolerance. It can only slide to bigotry and strife. Not having
strife is not an achievement. To avoid strife is where the humanity
compromises. It negates cherished values. In these virulent competing forces
that segregates and drag hapless humans into medieval frames is where the
possibilities of humanity is lost. Even the ever-limiting space that is left in
religions for sane discourse is being bludgeoned by competing forces. They take
human identities. They claim children, their innocence targeted. They occupy
land. They claim regions as theirs. They infect even something as innocent
as color, expression of art, language, food…so on. They seek to control our
past, present and claim our future, its heart wrenching. Every space that is
claimed by religion is a loss for humanity. With predatory claims of religion there is decreasing space for other narrations. There is no space for nuance or humanity. It is as
if we are dragged into medieval setting and are made to glimpse and partake atrocious primitive ways
despite having better understanding.
Religion cannot
solve any of the crisis that humanity faces and is not part of any solution -it
never was and it never will be, the framework is just incapable. If ever it is
a compromise, a compromise over humanity, hence a violation. Meanwhile it
causes daily nuisance and undermines the seriousness of the critical issues as
also deflect it into superficial matters that humanity has least time for. Isolated from reality herds are lost and
become dead weight on human efforts. They will patronize and claim ‘god will
save’, express love and community feeling in a redemptive effort. Yes, many
become immune to deteriorating reality and are content with their blinkered ways
and limited understanding. Studies show they live happily and longer. So do
some crustaceans. To live as a human being needs effort, a capacity to be alive meanwhile
painfully aware of absurdities, searing connection of senses to be present to
the moment and the capacity and consciousness to decide what to attend.
Religion negates this. There are however limits to which we can live the
reality and express the same. Indeed, reality is expressing through our will to
be free. Yes, one must assume Sisyphus to be happy. That seems to be the only way to
align ephemeral with vastness of existence.
