Postmodernity and Political Activism

[peterfaParticipant 833]

One great challenge I’ve been after is trying to figure out my life and the world around me. Being a young chap of 31 (who looks 25, sadly) I know not of a world where everybody has the same philosophy and worldviews. I imagine this to be where people compare notes just to make sure they’re not going wrong. This is a modern world.

In a postmodern world we have criticisms of this as the established modes of thought are considered to be tools of power used by the old instead of organizations based on honest beliefs. Because of all this criticism, we have all these organizations and beliefs created only in response to the traditions we once valued. Add globalization to see the diversity. Now we have a huge minefield we’re to navigate. We want to get things right and get to the truth but it’s so confusing. Just any jerk can BS a point that criticizes a whole system of values, beliefs, or philosophy. The thing in order to make a point and convince someone, you’d have to answer all those random points and the philosophies behind them. The other is privileged to just write you off since there’s no system to disenfranchise a moron. All people have equal weight and they’re write if they say what the narrative says, wrong if they disagree with the narrative.

Add to the fact that as a male, you’re judged. It’s hard to figure out what it is people believe so that you may enter into society and live among them, enjoying relationships with women. You try one philosophy after another and nothing works. Well, it’s a postmodern society.

So, I’m reading this book called Humble Apologetics. It’s a Christian Apologetics book that explains to Christian Apologists how to approach people today. The author is going through all the different philosophies in the market today. He’s basically pointing out the complexity, since conversion requires entering into somebody else’s world, which is much harder today due to postmodernity.

I read this quote which is where the author talks about the abuse of postmodernity for political activism:

Some activists have rather cynically engaged in what one might call a “pseudo-postmodernist two-step.” This is the rhetorical device of, first, using postmodernist criticism to de-privilege elites and then, second, asserting that the views of one’s own group are better than anyone else’s. Notice that this is not to claim that one’s group’s views are just as good as anyone else’s, for to say that is to assume a universal standard of goodness, and that is inconsistent with postmodernism. Furthermore, it is politically useless–for if the convictions of privileged white men are just as good as the protesters’, why should the former yield any power to the latter? Nor is it to claim that one’s group’s concerns represent just one viewpoint among many, without groups for any to be preferred to another in any objective sense. To say that would indeed be truly pluralistic and postmodern, but it doesn’t provide the strongest basis for getting other people to change their minds and grant you the power you want. Instead, there is here an exploitation of postmodernism to level the field and then a version to modernity (or premodernity) to champion one’s own ethos (whether a feminine one, a black one, or a gay one) as simply better. So-called political correctness has been the most obvious manifestation of this sort of thing.”

[John DoeParticipant 743]

I know not of a world where everybody has the same philosophy and worldviews.

People are less “original” than you think.  Sadly, most people actually have a lot in common.  People want to be “individuals” so they can be part of a “community.”  “Self expression” is about fitting in.   Take for example a tattoo.  People get them so they “look” different, but are they really “different” when everyone else has one?  Even expressing oneself through clothes, one has to limit themselves to a clothing line.  “Do as thou will” is a command not an acknowledgement of freedom.  People are followers whether they admit to it or not.

Add globalization to see the diversity.

You will watch the emergence of a “New” global religion during your/our life time.

http://www.uri.org/about_uri

You think “free thought” is suppressed now?

Getting back to the topic of philosophy.

It is my opinion that much of philosophy/theology has been damaged, or at least severely limited, to the “I think, therefore I am” view of the world.  The continual focus on the “I” does not allow us to seek anything beyond the “I” and in a sense limits us to the “I”.

Metaphysics is now more relevant than ever, yet is barely taught or acknowledged.

Also, as you have stated, modern philosophy is fundamentally reactive in nature.  All it can do is criticize “old” institutions, however it barely offers an alternative.  The critics of organization have become an organization itself.

Complexity, in modern philosophy, is what brings fault to the modern philosophers.  The more “complex” a philosophical system is the more likely their is a contradiction/lack of reason/or fault in some form.  Most modern philosophers contradict themselves half of the time in the name of “reason”.  Complexity is the only defense mechanism a modern philosopher can have, because where he fails in reason he can convince in large quantities of poetic words.  The smooth flow of a long wind speech deceives people.

Most modern philosopher’s start with premises that they claim to be rational, however are entirely faith based.  Ironically, these philosophers are against faith entirely.  These premises lead to conclusions that are less clear than the premise itself.  I think that is where modern philosophy succeeds in being culturally subjective.  It provides such a moral and ethical “gray zone” that anyone from the atheist to the agnostic to the uneducated Christian can get what they want out of it.

It’s hard to figure out what it is people believe so that you may enter into society and live among them, enjoying relationships with women.

This is true.  However most people do not even know what they believe or why they believe it.  Self reflection is a dying art.  I once had a professor who offer an interesting experiment with people.  When talking to a person about their beliefs, simply ask “Why?”  three times.  By the second or third “Why?” no one knows or can give an explanation as to why they believe as they do.

People are afraid of conflict.  That is another reason why many do not discuss their beliefs.  The use of words is a use of force and some cannot withstand any form let alone apply it correctly.  Say the rights words and even the strongest man will faulter.

If you check out G.K. Chesterton, a Catholic British philosopher from the early 20th century, he gives a lot of interesting insights into modern and postmodern culture.  A lot of his writings apply to the modern day.

[peterfaParticipant 833]

Well, I agree with much of what you say. We’re probably more on the same page than we might realize. I never thought of putting G.K. Chesterton on my reading list but I have heard of him. He’s one of Ravi Zacharias’ favorite authors. I think the only person Ravi likes more than him is Malcolm Muggeridge.

I’ve been in a severely p~~~y mood, I mean, way more than normal. Try thinking Radical Feminist who was hit on by a short man, kind of p~~~y. I could really use some shrewed snarkiness. Let it be thick and condemning. Malcolm is considered to be brutal.

Anyways, you’re damn right that most people don’t know what they know. I used to be that way too about 10 years when I realized I hadn’t a clue that I could trust the Bible. It was a thought in my mind that slowly began to creep since I was in 7th grade. The fear of death sobered me from blind belief. I realized if I didn’t check up on how I new, something I was seriously afraid of doing, then I was going to become unable to believe. I ran into Christian Apologetics. So therefore I have found out why.

That wasn’t even the end of it. I had many more questions then if the Bible was reliable. Like how come my life wasn’t changing, why was I so messed up, and why is this information not revolutionary. These questions festered within and I was driven to seek the answers. I learned a great amount of philosophy and psychology. Philosophy for the internal coherence, for criticism of the competing worldviews, for learning why it’s not penetrating the world, and for bringing it into my life.

I’m just not able to swallow the ignorance pills anymore. The world is changed, we’re not all about farming any more. The same old lessons that have been taught for 500 years aren’t good enough. That may have worked with an uneducated and illiterate population, but I’m coming home from a secular school with angry teachers with agendas. Therefore, just being told how to live out the faith in small ways isn’t close to good enough. Then I go to far more sophisticated sources.

In psychology I learn a great amount about myself and about people. This is actually where my faith started to take on new life. Basically, psychology fits the Christian framework surprisingly well. Freud thought of people as little more than above the animals, very depraved at that. With a little critique there’s a lot of overlap. You’re a person with sinful habits, but you lie to both cover it up and to engage your jollies.

When I go to Christian circles I find it hard to open up and trust, since I’ve been hurt so many times by Christians. I opened up in psychology to allow myself to judge them and see them for who they are. Really, they’re not all that great. It’s too bad they’re not growing, but remaining immature.

I come from a Christian home which was terribly dysfunctional. My father was abusive and mother codependent. My father had borderline personality disorder with some sexual predator tendencies. Sadly, some of that rubbed off on me. I have seem my father give looks to young woman like they really where there for his pleasure. He even told my mom that God made women for men to look at. He didn’t give a rats ass for what he did to others. It was always about him.

My sisters turned out horribly. I have a double insight on the female mind. I know of their struggles and the problems they face. I was so very sympathetic to them. I didn’t see what my sisters where becoming though. I suppose I forgave them too much. I was too sympathetic. Of course they’d be angry, look at how my father treated them? My sister once even told me a story about how my father said to her that until she’s married, he has a right to know about her sex life. So… there you have it. In memory I don’t see the pattern that my father had a lust for either of his daughters, so this seems odd. I suspect he’s just trying to control her. Still, that’s hella creepy and disturbing and certainly damaging.
For the record, she was nearly 30 at this time (and soon to be married). It’s not like he did this when she was 14.

So, my sisters turned out horribly. For a while I couldn’t understand that they were so terrible. One I knew was a hardcore bitch but the other seemed to be trusting. I later decided she wasn’t just because she wouldn’t let me protect myself from the hardcore bitch. In order to protect myself, I decided to turn from them and refuse to talk to them. This led to a lot of awkward family functions until I was finally able to free myself from them. Gosh, I hate dysfunctional families.

Now, this is some of the most critically hurtful things in my life, though, sadly it’s not all. So, I have a long list of people who decided to act with pride instead of humbling themselves. They used all sorts of Freud’s defense mechanisms and imprisoned themselves in nasty little personality disorders. Had they reflected on themselves, that could have stunted.

I reflected on myself. It was a painful struggle and I think I remember the very day I came out of the self-imposed nightmare. I remember forcing myself to see coming up with lies to make myself feel what I need to get what I want as just dishonest, and to accept that which is true despite the pain. I remember feeling a pretty negative feeling, like something inside was tearing apart. Whatever it was, I killed it. I still feel that pain when I struggle with the knowledge that things didn’t go right for me, or that I might have done something wrong. It echos from the past. I was in early 7th grade then, perhaps the summer before it, I’m not sure.

I can easily see that all these people failed to reflect on themselves. Perhaps they found that insulting and rude. They could not be bothered with questioning their own pride. Because they routinely sacrificed me for their pride, I now hate them. They have imprisoned themselves in the damp dungeon of prideful fantasy. Let the rabid rats and moldy bread bring them their comfort and joy. As for me I will suffer the pain of reality ever more. Even if it kills me.

So, when you say that there’s a huge deficit in self-reflection, I feel great relief. Nobody cares about this any more and it’s destroying our country. We have all these silly ideas that escape people from this pain. The indignity of this is given false credit through academia and slights of hands like that in my original post. That is, our culture is minting personality disorders. As dysfunctional systems prove, pain is given by the character disordered to the neurotic. Yet, it’s the neurotic that is told they’re being character disordered instead of neurotic and the character disordered is told that he or she is neurotic. We then have depraved people acting as mass psychologists. A real psychologist will tell you how horrible this is. People who have been blessed by psychology want to become psychologists to help others. However, that’s not always wise since they will likely transfer, “Oh, I know you were abused.”

Since I came from a seriously dysfunctional family, I grew up confused, messed up, and hard on myself. I wondered why I couldn’t get the attention of women. I tried hard too. Now I did have some success but I scared them away. I was also attached by some predatious women and nobody pointed it out. I’ve got some stories I have planned. So, because I see how I scared away some women, and of the mistakes I made, I figured I just needed to learn and get my game straight. Some self reflection and hard work to be done.

I learned. I figured out so much and came to understand so much. Then I got my head straight. I learned why all this crap happened to me. I was terribly unlucky, but it wasn’t my fault. I was targeted, and the youngest. I was gullible and naive so many took advantage of that and hurt me. I made mistakes continuously and I never figured out what I was doing wrong.

I realized I had entered from my dysfunctional family into a crapsack world. I thought things would be much better after I severed ties to my dysfunctional family and got away from being a vulnerable child to a man who can get a job. I was wrong.

Then I finally entered into the world with a degree and a job. Then I was bullied out of two jobs. I lost all my life savings trying to find another and I don’t feel good about this new one. Turns out, I’m still a target, and still a victim. At my last job, I was bullied by a babyboomer. Management wouldn’t take me seriously. I trusted them. I remember so well the look on the face of that man when I came in to get my things after I was fired. He was happy and laughed.

The reason why I can’t become true MGTOW is that women are capable of self-reflection, but life has it that they are deprived of this. Too many men pander and cater to them. They are taught at a young age to be narcissistic and that life will always be unfair to them. They are to judge men and approve of them. This just sets them up for nasty personality disorders and there’s no recourse. They demonstrate full capacity for thinking in all manners. They’re not stupid, just the products of seriously poor parenting.

Women are considered to be nurturing, loving, sexually pure, and honest, but in practice I see nothing of this sort. Rather, it’s men who hold these.

Women aren’t maturing, but then again, men aren’t doing that much better. Men are definitely more mature than women, but another man will f~~~ you up for a girl. Even if it’s a cute little child. He wants her approval and does it by abusing you in front of her, as if to say, “He’s a bad boy, and I know you don’t like him. Look at what I do to him for your sake.”

Sadly, once you’re abused, all the bullies will find you and target you. Then people blame you for it and try to bully you around some more. You wonder why this always happens and you decide that you did this and that wrong, so you figure that you deserved it. That damages you further. You change, and damage some important key parts of your personality and who you are because obviously, that’s why you keep driving these bullies to hurt you. This only damages you and serves to make you an even better victim, and more obvious target.

Add ADD, dyslexia, and a host of other unfortunate disorders (delayed sleep phase syndrome, sleep apnea, to make one look blatantly like a juvenile delinquent) and your luck is completely gone. Your life is going to suck.

Certainly the problem is in self reflection. I did it, even to the point where it damaged me, but others did not. I’m not responsible for the world as it is, but I can’t do anything to stop it, though I see what I believe to be the solution. Only God’s great prophet, Mother Nature, can bring people into humility and self-reflection. I’ve learned there’s nothing you can do to wake a person up from their damp dungeon of arrogance. You have to wait until Mother Nature come down with her vehement bitchslap. Her heart is as cold as absolute zero, and her hatred is as hot as any sport in the universe. Her love is like the largest blackhole, 12 billion times as large as our sun, and serves only to suck everything it can, because the universe is all she is, and what the universe is, so is she. That bitchslap cannot be ignored. Who can survive her wrath? Who can build a wall against her fury?

The only other option is to let them screw themselves over, but that’s basically the same as mother nature.

However, we protect the arrogant fools from mother nature. As a confederacy, we keep them protected. As the problem swells, which in only does, the economy will be further strained until it collapses, because the foolish arrogance is now on the confederate level, no longer the personal level. Should the confederacy give to the foolish that which is due instead of protecting the foolish from the wrath, it would have spared itself and watched the population boom with wisdom. This was the vision of the founding fathers of America. America was for the hardworking, accepting of natures discipline. Now its for those who wish to rob the hardworking and feed it to the blight.

If what you’re saying is either that the problem is self-reflection and pointing out philosophical failures is not productive, or that the logic is simply wrong, I can understand your point. There is a huge degree of self-reflection, but I guess in the end the psalmist is correct that wisdom begins with the fear of God. The foolish lives as though God doesn’t exist which is why it says that he says in his heart there is no God.

I’m don’t think I know exactly what you’re trying to say. It looks more like you’re adding to my main point with a few critiques rather than arguing with another point.

[John DoeParticipant 743]

I’m just not able to swallow the ignorance pills anymore. The world is changed, we’re not all about farming any more. The same old lessons that have been taught for 500 years aren’t good enough. That may have worked with an uneducated and illiterate population, but I’m coming home from a secular school with angry teachers with agendas. Therefore, just being told how to live out the faith in small ways isn’t close to good enough. Then I go to far more sophisticated sources.

These are times that test what people believe.  Religious or not, people have to know what they are talking about and why.  The information revolution doesn’t have any sympathy on ignorance.

In psychology I learn a great amount about myself and about people. This is actually where my faith started to take on new life. Basically, psychology fits the Christian framework surprisingly well. Freud thought of people as little more than above the animals, very depraved at that. With a little critique there’s a lot of overlap. You’re a person with sinful habits, but you lie to both cover it up and to engage your jollies.

I go back and forth on the importance of psychology.   I do not really have a strong opinion for or against it.  With that being said, I think Freud was close but his premise (sex) should have been replaced with the drive for power and the need to possess.  He did have some interesting observations on the dark side of human nature, but I think the premise is what limited him.  Deep down people want to be their own god.  This is the deepest and darkest temptation (and illusion) people have to deal with.  But you can’t just tell people that, they have to understand it for themselves.  With that being said, I think in the foreseeable future we will find an upswing in Satanic philosophy in the mainstream culture and day to day life.  It sounds medieval or conspiratorial when I bring it up, but it is a legitimate threat not to be underestimated.

When I go to Christian circles I find it hard to open up and trust, since I’ve been hurt so many times by Christians. I opened up in psychology to allow myself to judge them and see them for who they are. Really, they’re not all that great. It’s too bad they’re not growing, but remaining immature.

I understand.  I have recently started going back to church, but one (not the) of the reasons I stayed away was the Christians.  I really don’t like them.  They are weak, in an effiminate hippy sort of way, or they do not care or believe in why they are there.  If it makes me a bad guy, well I am the bad guy.  One thing I have observed, is that no matter what philosophy or religion you observe, people are hypocrites wherever you go.  So there is only so much either of us can expect.  I have read a commentary one time in which the author likened American Christians to the Church of Laedocia in the book of Revelations.  I am not the “end of the world/fire and brimstone” type but it was an interesting parallel.

In regards to your dysfunctional family, I haven’t observed a family that wasn’t dysfunctional in one way shape or form.  Even the “sane” looking ones hide some serious issues.  I spent a few years in a Catholic seminary and you should hear some of the bizarre stuff said in confessionals.  You think your family is bad, your should hear stories about some of the nuns.  So I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it.  Even my genetic lineage is full of people with sociopathic tendencies.  And some who completely lack them.  We can’t control the hand we are dealt, but we can control how it is played.

Then I finally entered into the world with a degree and a job. Then I was bullied out of two jobs. I lost all my life savings trying to find another and I don’t feel good about this new one. Turns out, I’m still a target, and still a victim. At my last job, I was bullied by a babyboomer. Management wouldn’t take me seriously. I trusted them. I remember so well the look on the face of that man when I came in to get my things after I was fired. He was happy and laughed.

The job market does reflect the culture.  It is everyman for himself.  I have been laid off a job just for misplacing a set of tools one time a day prior.  Two days prior to that, they were telling me I would be on for up to 7 months.  Other jobs I have been accused of behavior only to have the video tapes prove it had nothing to do with me.  No apologies, nothing.  Other jobs I have been lured in with a 2000 dollar bonus if I schedule a certain number of estimates with homeowners.  The whole job was shut down a few days prior to the month ending, so no one could collect the bonus.  Other jobs they will pay you 8.50 an hour and give you no opportunity for advancement.   I am not bitching, because I don’t care at this point.

My point is that I have held jobs literally everywhere (door to door advertising/security/warehouse/carpentry/roustabout on oil rigs/etc) and no matter where you go people will treat you as a disposable unit.  There is no “greener grass” on the other side of the fence.  At least, I have not seen it.  I have a degree in criminal justice and I can make more without it.   In today’s day and age, we are just replaceable numbers.  Even if you have a degree, as I previously stated.  I have worked with the homeless 4+ years ago and some of them even had master’s degrees in engineering/worked for nasa/etc.  It doesn’t matter who you are.  Job security is a thing of the past.

On a different note, I can’t complain because all of this bulls~~~ (and it is all bulls~~~) allows us to look past all the transitory and pointless things of this life.   It is a gift because if it doesn’t matter, I don’t care.  Pointless to get upset.

It looks more like you’re adding to my main point with a few critiques rather than arguing with another point.

For the most part, yeah.

[peterfaParticipant 833]

Thank you for responding to my long-winded response. I’m sorry and embarrassed I wrote so darn much. You even at least sounded like you read the whole thing through, if only to help me save face, and if you really did, then awesome.

<span style=”font-family: ‘Open Sans’, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;”>They are weak, in an effiminate hippy sort of way, or they do not care or believe in why they are there.</span>

That’s the way churches seem these days. Is it any wonder Christianity gets so mocked and scorned? Compare to the authentic passion of the religious in other religions. We’re sitting ducks. They’re are the simple, and even the Bible discusses them.

If you look in Proverbs, the author seems to make 4 categories of humans: The Simpleton, The Fool, The Mocker, and The Wise.

The Simpleton lives for comfort. He or she lies and believes lies that keep him or her from suffering the need to change. Right away, we can see most humans are like this. They are also naive and gullible. They tend to be had since they lack shrewd discernment.

The Fool believes in his heart this is no god. That doesn’t mean the fool is an atheist, but that in his own mind, he doesn’t believe it. He will go to church, act saintly, but he is manipulative, selfish, drinks, does drugs, pornography, or whatever. He always repeats his mistakes, and never learns. His motivation is control. He believes he’s in control of the universe and lies to himself to believe it. In fact, he’s full of lies. His apologies are always faked and usually made in such a way to deliberately miss the point or vague enough. “I’m sorry [you feel that way].” “I’m sorry [you’re a pansy].” “I’m sorry that you misunderstood my intent.”

Here’s a good example of a fool:

I’ll confess that I have an insight. You can’t really tell who she is by the video. She’s exactly like my sister, only more prettier and more slender.

The Mocker is the evil one. He loves to destroy good. You can see Gloria Steinem. That’s a definite mocker. She is passive, careful, reserved, but desperately wicked. Listen to her carefully and watch as she stifles her rage. She’ll kill you, that one.

The Wise Man is defined as one who fears God. I think that means that God is a starting point for all decisions. All things are known and seen by him so you must reflect on yourself and catch your on crap, before he calls you on it. Self-reflection should also be about guiding philosophy, science, and other principles so that sobriety anchors your thinking.

A wise one also loves correct rebuke. He likes it if you catch him on his crap. He listens if you complain and doesn’t take anything personally, though he thinks about what you say.

As you can see, the intelligence of the Western Church is dropping. Biblical literacy is dropping. Western Christianity is saturated with feudalism, gynocentricism, chivalry, and tradition. Because of technology, it’s beginning to complicate and explode. It could tear down our nations unless we take great pain and change.

I’m a fan of the phrase, “If a man shall not work, neither shall he eat.” We have a culture that is trying to tax the hardworking to feed the lazy. That will not last. America was founded on the opposite. In my opinion, America is freedom from laziness. You are granted a right to work hard and keep the fruits of your labor.

Not to mention the blatant corruption of our culture, which is vast. I was so naive growing up to completely miss it. You can say that I was seduced by the promise of a nice woman if I only did the right things, or the things in the movies (haha), or by being a nice, mature man. Rather nothing makes sense. I have no idea what women even want me to believe anymore. So many lie, and the rest are naive (save a few).

Our mothers and grandmothers were grown adults, wise women, strong, and hard working. They might have a lot of gynocentric attitude, but  they loved their husbands and would stand by them. They had honor. Our current women have almost no honor. They don’t hold each other accountable. There’s a plague of gossiping and men avoid church women because they know of reputation destruction. Of course those women complain as they remain single, and the church leaders say men should, “Man up.” Meanwhile, those women remain single. I hope they like cats.

Finally I’d like to point out the blatant obviousness of the Bible and the Great Whore. Many speculate on who or what that is. I used to wonder painfully about why the Bible makes so many feminine references in a negative way. The Great Whore is a woman. Well, so was Jezebel. On a side note, why is it that feminists say feminism is good for men when they make a website called Jezebel? Am I the only one who sees this? Jezebel was wicked. She perverted the Israeli tribes and control her mangina-husband, Ahab. This caused so much trouble in Israel.

This could be a resurgence, what we see to today, of worshiping women. Since feudalism, all we men had to do was pander to women to feel moral and good about ourselves. It was a god to us–idolatry. We even judge the Bible by that god. This is wanton. It looks like that in the end times, a great religion will be created, or fashioned from many others, perhaps old, that the intellectual elites, the governments, the populations all like, but centers on women. It probably won’t be good for women though, a great many would be tortured to death. It would be rigidly gynocentric. It would be dystopian.

Such is the nightmare yet to befall humanity. We cannot solve our problems of diversity with unity, so we’ll probably be murdering each other until the end of times, or suffer a fascist state, super strong, perpetual, and totally intolerant. I see these as the only possible future. Perhaps ISIS will bring this about.

So, perhaps the Bible foretold of these days. It is said that the end times will be like the time before Noah and his rowboat. Women are beautiful, each man does what is right in his own mind, nobody yearns for God, people listen to whatever tantalizes their itchy ears, and finally their stomachs become their gods.

Lastly I want to point out the interesting detail of the end time prophecies, that the Bible points out that there will be something like 144,000 or so Jewish men who are virgins and unspoiled by women. That might not be so literal, that these men are actually MGTOWs who may or may not have slept with women, but have learned to find their value in God, not in the approval of women.

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