One of our nations largest religious groups believes in an apocalypse, which will ultimately result in the return of their god so he can establish his moral law on earth forever. They often cite a lack of morals in society, claim that godless people are colluding to take over our nation, and we reject a real God because we refuse moral accountability. The end of the world as we know it is fast approaching. Whose side are you on?
Our current state of politics has revealed a divide among philosophies about government and its purpose and/or rights and divisions of those rights. We have Tea Parties, threats of violence against healthcare reformers, claims of activist judges and beliefs about our current president labeling him as a tyrant and his party as tyrannical. Whether the consitution is being manipulated, or not, is not my point in this article, although I think that argument is a valid one, it is the use of emotionalism and denigration that concerns me the most. These claims, both religious and political, are what I call a form of catastrophizing.
**Catastrophizing is an irrational thought that something is far worse than it actually is.**
The religious believers of an apocalyptic end time prophecy fail to consider the flaw in perfect life after the apocalypse. Consider their belief in the beginnings of humanity, If Adam and Eve where without sin, yet they sinned, what's to prevent the new earth, after the apocalypse, and it's people from sinning again? For that matter, what's to prevent transformed people in heaven from sinning again and being cast out like the angels, who, without sin, eventually sinned too? They too knew the loving god spoken of by many a follower of this major religion, yet they were easily persuaded to sin, really??
Political parties hold similar ideals or beliefs. Much will be made right and reason will prevail once we are in power. Has this ever been the case? In my opinion each system has one goal in mind, which is to guarantee a better life. One is a guarantee of a perfect life and the other is a guarantee of a better life under their ideas of government.
The guarantee of a better life is possible. History can attest to this. The very guarantee of a perfect life is not possible. People are what they are not because of sin, but because we are a product of nature. In other words, because we are alive and because nature, at its essence is not about perfection but living. We can relax and not worry about being something we aren’t.
Religion seems to catastrophize because it provides motivation to be faithful to one's beliefs and prove one's righteous intent. Political catastrophizing seems to be about power; the power to right a perceived wrong and establish one's belief as supreme and right. If you win, you are right. At least that is what winners often conclude in these matters.
The human mind is a fragile thing, meaning, it is easily fooled into believing its own propaganda. In my past, I had so clearly believed I was right that I was unable to hear anything in opposition to my views. I formed all manner of reasons to reinforce my worldview instead of questioning it when it didn't work or make sense. Catastrophizing is a simple but amazingly powerful form of motivation. Its motivational benefits are evident and it can mobilize the masses to an unfortunate outcome. History is replete with examples of this.
Fear is the power of the catastrophe and a manipulated conscience, to act according to the belief set, is the outcome. No need to use reason, manipulate a person's conscience and you've won a fight, or gained a convert. Catastrophize enough, spin information enough and people stop looking for reasons to question. It is ironic that even the seems Bible states that fear has no place in love. "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
Catastrophizing has no business in religion or politics. It is a low form of manipulation and one rooted in fear and manipulation. Unfortunately, we can't rewrite our ancient texts or remove the manipulation and fear mongering. We can however, stand up against such tactics and demand thoughtful and respectful dialog. As anticlimactic as that may seem I can't think of anything better than respectful reasoning to replace fear and manipulation. In my humble opinion, being reasonable is one way of showing love to those we care about and, in general, being reasonable makes this journey much more agreeable.
Bill Jeffreys
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