The Pressures Toward Global Materialistic Avarice in the 21st Century

                    :The question arises, "How do people deceive themselves so well as to convince, marginalize and materially exploit others?" In this age of "The Pandering Bourgeoisie," people are bred to consume wastefully, I too covet sometimes, pointlessly. Billionaires, Monarchs, and authoritarians are always the most aggressively subservient people, enslaved by their wealth, delusions of power, and their hostile pretenses of absolute control. All of the world's best research is now subsumed under the agendas of paranoid business departments.

                    I used to love the Beatitudes until I read the part about giving your life for Jesus. Martyrs do make good cornerstones for religions. But does submission to God also require passivity under the force of oppression? "Blessed are the meek, Blessed are the poor," Blessed are the insipid. (Is this a recipe for breeding human sheep? I love Jesus, not martyrdom.) Materialism is enhanced by enforced self denial. Self pity and self sacrifice can make anyone cruel and unfeeling. (What's sacrificed is the love of an unfeeling Father.) Affluence Ministries appeal to our self pity. Addictions to money are the hardest Jones to break.

                    I myself refuse to worship a god who would punish innocent children for straying and refusing to believe. If god is a such a jealous bully, no wonder he needs the devil to seduce innocent non believers. If believing in god means we are to judge the children of strangers to be damned by birth, why believe in anything at all? Ever? Thus our faiths have led us to the temptations of avarice. Our faith has made us martyrs to the dollar. I'd rather starve, and I have.

I'm reading a fascinating book by David Weinberger called "TOO BIG TO KNOW." It's about the failure of hierarchical authorities in a data driven society. A.K.A. Clerical abuse. Today's social information networks debate all the available knowledge. But the old long form authors (of which I tend to follow) are still with us. We now also get the constant noise of antagonistic dialogs through arrogant online discussion.

The Talmud for me is the old form text with an evolving open record. Wikipedia is also an example of a group moderated knowledge compendium. I would say if you want to look at uncontested knowledge like Euclid's "ELEMENTS" or Newton's "PRINCIPIA," we see both are enhanced by contemporary analysis producing ever more refined and precise corrections. No final authority is needed to close the book or codify correct conduct.

The clerical academics of most philosophies and religions are often bullshit. Not to say that these works are always wrong per say. It's just that most of what was written was early and often inaccurate. When we look at many the arguments surrounding conflicting worldviews, we often get lost in semantics. The greater challenge becomes, "Knowing when we're wrong, and finding out what to do when we are wrong."

Declarative intentional learning is hopefully adaptive. "Authoritative Knowledge," however, is enforced. Parroting scripted messaging often induces silent withdrawal. But this may be the only sign a person will show, of receptivity. Even these brief moments of subjective awareness can be so subtle, that the person spouting half truths can suddenly relapse back into denials and evasions. (Here's a case tautology: My own, "Money is the hardest addiction to break." Even if it is true, where's my evidence and am I just being preachy?)

I write extensively on recuperative deprogramming. I will continue to post more articles from my book on this subject.