Are Moderates The New FORD?
Back in Auto Mechanics school, we shared a lot of jokes. Mostly about cars, but the range of topics was truly all over the place. Most too foul to repeat here, but one that I will share is about the crappiest auto manufacturer under the sun, Ford Motor Company. I’ve always despised Ford for building such shite and then having the audacity to claim innovation and reliability. Those two claims couldn’t be further from the truth, so I was highly amused to find out that Ford was an acronym for “Found On Road Dead.”
Of course, there were some staunch Ford fans, but these people lived in the Realm of the Fool; denying an entire world of scientific and experiential fact. The brand they chose to latch onto was simply the bottom of the barrel. Probably an ignorant ideal passed along from older male family members, but a fallacy nonetheless. I know some people who view the world like this, but unfortunately for all of us, it ain’t just limited to which type of car you drive.
My friend TJ the DJ had “an interesting idea” recently. Namely, compromise. Going “middle of the road” to solve disagreements instead of circling the wagons and shooting fiery arrows into the other camp. In this post, he chastizes us all for acting like children, unable to get past our egos and comfort zones in order to explore greater truth. Hey TJ — I couldn’t agree more. 
Then he moves on to a feisty challenge for all participants in the argument, which is that we should all start writing for “the other side” so that we may establish common ground and improve our situation from a wiser, more secure vantage point. I think this is a great suggestion and would like to see it widely adopted.
I’ve been writing for a Conservative audience for years. Only problem is, they seem to be wrapped so tightly in vitriolic rhetoric that they are unable to see how far they have drifted from True Conservativism.(tm)
For all the examination I’ve given, the fundamental problem I keep coming back to is our “Culture of Judgement.” All walks of life want to dwindle away their days casting aspersions (usually inaccurate and overly harsh) on the people around them. It is a crucial and exhausting problem, for it seems to have no end. Also troubling is the fact that this interest in judgement never seems to turn into a stint of Self-judgement. Critical of everyone but not myself, it seems.
And I continue to target organized religion. Either as the thing that needs to be destroyed completely or the thing that needs to be shared, understood and accepted amongst peoples. Religious division and fervor are truly the root causes of our global social problems today. All the followers have “divine knowledge” that their sect is “right” and none want to adapt to our rapidly changing world. It is really disturbing that medieval fictions and the fear they produce have such a powerful grasp on the minds of millions of world citizens. This intellectual stranglehold is keeping the entire human race from self-actualizing.
The fact that the aims of religious groups continue to defy and subvert science should be as alarming as a million PCP-laced terrorists on our doorstep.
Sadly, this perspective only seems to be reached by people who avidly read the news and is not shared by those who watch the news.
[MIT just announced a lecture series on religion that looks promising. I wish I could take off a few weeks and head to Cambridge to participate. Maybe they will Open Source that knowledge like they have with so many other classes.]
So the question remains. “Is being in the middle of the road a guarantee of getting squashed?” Is there any opportunity left for moderates to bridge the gap between the extremists (who don’t seem to be listening to anyone, not even themselves)? Are we cursed to devolve into segmented in-fighting that will only drive us backwards?
Before I even click “Publish” I can feel the hate mail coming on. Out of all the topics I get flamed for, religion is always the one that brings out the ugliest in people. (Isn’t that strange? I thought religion was supposed to bring out the best in people. When did that change?) I used to get quite upset at their venom-tongued feedback, but now I just sit back and smile because obviously I am poking at their sorest spot. Failing logic or reason, they are much more capable of spewing bitterly ironic personal attacks. These examples of acceptable hatemongering are why I don’t much trust religious folk.