"Reality" And Belief

                                                                                       

I just received from a friend a three-disc set containing a series hosted by one of Fox News's reporters, and describing “a political movement that, against all odds, changed the world.” The set appears to be about six hours in length and is entitled “The Right, All Along.” Hosted by a reporter who is a self-proclaimed Conservative,ⁱ and featuring the views and “... the stories of William F. Buckley, Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, Robert Bork, Pat Robertson, Phyllis Schlafly, Newt Gingrich, George W. Bush and many others,” the content is predictable. In an era of neatly packaged propaganda, this series is to be admired for the forthright way in which it proclaims its perspective in its title, and it has some appeal to me because I favor some of the positions what I'm certain it espouses. (I don't anticipate any objectivity, however, even though FOX claims to be “Fair and Balanced.” While I like FOX, it is fair and balanced only in the sense that it provides some balance to other media news sources whose biases are toward the left. It's like the Wall Street Journal, which provides balance when the New York Times is in the scale's other pan.)

But I shall not watch it.

I shall not watch it because I've spent too much of my time on books and videos that purport to demonstrate the unarguable validity of one belief system or another.ⁱⁱ Each viewpoint is defended as supported by some famous Nobel Prize winners, movie stars, athletes, and other personalities who, without any credentials to do so, vehemently advocate the views expressed, often unquestioningly.ⁱⁱⁱ Works like the one sent me clearly outline the position they wish me to adopt, in a manner painted as objective and clear. They don't require me to think. Indeed, they generally discourage thought. Often the position is claimed to be scientifically based – although the science is usually “cherry-picked,” self-serving, and credited to famous individuals – however the motives of those individuals are often in question, and their prejudices make the outcomes predictable. After reading and watching several of these I have come to recognize the genre^iv without wasting my time on other specific examples. I have better things to do.

Right now, for example, I'm in the middle of a book by Elie Wiesel entitled“legends of our time.”^v The blurb on the back cover states “a new mythology is being made in our time. For men to comprehend events of world-shaking impact, a mythology is required...” The stories present unanswered – and perhaps unanswerable – questions that require the readers to consider the questions themselves, and the moral implications of the different approaches presented by the situations depicted. The outlines are there, but no attempt is made to dictate the decision.

A couple of decades ago, when I was writing a book featuring fanciful and unlikely Jewish ritual objects, my younger son, Daniel (now a Rabbi and teacher), suggested something he called “Tefillin The Blanks.” Tefillin are boxes worn on the arm and head during the morning service. The boxes contain parchments on which one of the major precepts of the Jewish religion is written, and my son's idea was that the parchments should only have the outlines of the words, with the user given the opportunity to participate by filling in the blank spaces. That would also offer the chance to consider, and to fill in mentally, the ideas that the letters and words represented. And the different users would have divergent understandings of the meaning of the verses, because the thoughts would not be predigested and indefeasible, but open to each individual's personal “take” on the idea. It was not a catechism, but the starting point for thought.

One of the earliest literary forms was the myth. It was designed^vi to provide answers for the questions everyone had about the world around them. It did not matter that they invoked extranatural solutions. All that counted was that they offered solutions. Legends, sagas, and folk tales were the outgrowth of mythology. And when answers were desperately sought, they provided the path to certainty. Some put religion in the same category, and while “myth” is a loaded word, religious faith may also provide the comfort of unqualified certainty when questions abound. Should the answers of the different systems compete, it's worth remembering that all of them may contain some element that is right – at least if they are reached after all the possibilities were considered. But error is likely when someone adopts the point of view that his beliefs are the Truth, while everyone else's are mythology, and wrong.^vii

That's what propaganda is all about – ready-made and obvious answers. And anyone who rejects those answers is being misled. I recently heard someone say something to the effect that he always seeks the truth, but fears those who have it. It is often the case that the question is more powerful than the answer. It is our responsibility to fill in the outlines ourselves, rather than to accept the certain positions of others – however professionally they're presented. No one should do it for us. No one can.

 

Next episode: “Whatever It Takes” – The end justifies the means.

i       “[D]uring 2006 [Brit] Hume said, 'Sure, I'm a conservative, no doubt about it.'” – Wikipedia.

ii      Only my belief system is valid. It's not unarguably so, however, because there are fools who will argue about anything.

iii     How some entertainment stars became experts on politics and society – aside from the reality that they proclaimed themselves so, and gave money to (and speeches favoring) some political candidate – is beyond me.

iv      Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover.

v       1970, Avon Books.

vi     “Designed” is a strong word and suggests intent. Perhaps that's overstating the situation, at least in terms of conscious intent. But even if there was no such plan, it was at least unconscious, and folk explanations of the unfathomable are what resulted.

vii     Ignore note #2 (ii) for the moment.