1. Human Civilization Cannot be Grounded in Lies
Last week, I observed that the massive, society-wide animal exploitation
and abuse requires general acquiescence to a set of obvious lies. Many
individuals readily parrot these lies because the lies serve their perceived
interests. Further, they tend to prefer leaders who articulate these lies
and protect deceitful institutions over contenders for power who speak
uncomfortable truths. However, people know, deep down, that their mendacious
leaders are not trustworthy.
A paradox is that people have almost always been drawn to spiritual leaders
who have fearlessly spoken truth and therefore opposed unjust treatment of
humans and nonhumans and therefore have (among other things) chosen a
plant-based diet. These spiritual leaders talk of God or the gods as being
merciful, and they demonstrate mercy in the ways they deal with humans and
nonhumans. I think that people want to envision God or the gods as merciful
because they believe that divine forces influence their life and determine
their fate after death, and they feel very vulnerable. Though they often try
to create a public image as upright and honorable people, privately they
know that they are deeply flawed and that only a merciful deity will show
kindness toward them.
Thus, humans tend to be drawn to two poles. They are attracted to dishonest
leaders who confirm their prejudices and justify their selfish desires. But,
they know that these leaders are liars, which makes them hesitant to entrust
their well-being to the care of these leaders. Consequently, they also want
to follow spiritual leaders who speak truth fearlessly, even as the
spiritual path seems to demand more self-sacrifice than they are willing to
make. This attraction to opposite poles, grounded in individual psychology
and manifest in societal institutions, generates an unstable equilibrium
that threatens all institutions. If the mendacious side gains dominance, the
institutions will fail to serve the general populace and many will suffer as
the institutional leaders serve their own needs at the expense of the
public. If the side for truth and mercy prevails, institutions needed for
peace and order that have been grounded on lies will undergo radical
transformations that might, ultimately, be destructive for society-at-large.
I think there might be a way to navigate the difficult waters humanity faces
in an age of proliferating weapons of mass destruction, climate change,
resource depletion, the corrosive effect of the Internet on our democratic
institutions, and other challenges. It starts with a critique of two
principal forms of government – autocracy (which is perhaps most generously
depicted in Plato’s Republic) and representative democracy.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
2. All-Creatures.Org Ministry
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