A White Man’s Fear in a Frightened America

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

By Frank Nuessle

. . . . As the philosopher, John Ralston Saul, has written, “We suffer from an addictive weakness for large illusions - A weakness for ideology”. An Ideology is a system of abstract thought, a worldview, or a way of looking at the world. When one is operating out of an ideology, it is like having on blinders to other perspectives of the truth. “Don’t confuse me with facts, my mind is made up.” Power in America is tied to the pursuit of all-inclusive truths and utopias which are repeated endlessly by the media. As a result, our citizens are incapable of recognizing these attitudes as a flight from reality - an embracing of ideology. The unshakeable belief that we are on the road to truth— and therefore to the solution to our problems— prevents us from identifying an obsession as an ideology.

America’s latest all-powerful ideology is the marketplace and technology. With all ideologies, the ‘Day of Judgment’ is imminent and terrifying. Saul points out that Marxism, Fascism and the marketplace all resemble each other in that they are all political ideologies that are hooked on science and technology as the path to utopia. All ideologies have a utopia at the end of their illusory rainbow.

Utopia is a word coined by Thomas More in 1516 from two Greek words: ‘no’ and ‘place’. To live within an ideology is to have Utopian expectations and to live in limbo - To live nowhere. To live in a utopia is to live where the illusion of reality is feed by the highly sophisticated rational part of the mind. It is also to live in a state that denies the more complete picture of what it means to be human, to be connected to each other and to the planet because the rational mind offers only a small part of the real human reality.

Rather than a national dialogue that simply pits one utopian based ideology against another, America needs to find a new conversation, a new story, a new narrative, that is based in a grounded reality. We aren’t even close, as exhibited by the current conversation among our 2016 Presidential contenders . . . .

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42727.htm

[Warpy]

1. It's not a loss of Utopia

that white males have faced, it's their income that has dropped most steeply compared to the drop in income we've felt as working people across the board.

Unfortunately, too many of them don't realize what has happened to them and why and have become suckers for any ideologue who comes along with other groups for them to blame instead of blaming the 0.1%, the true culprits.

[daybranch]

3. yes

yes, yes

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. Posted to for later. n/t

[sorechasm]

4. Nice article. Thanks Mr_Jefferson_24!

It frightens me that we Dreamers might reap what we have sown. If so, all of us, the rich and the poor, the innocent and the guilty, will suffer the consequences. How does America wake up to these consequences and escape from our current dream that is so divorced from reality?

Many of our citizens recognize that exploitation of nature, other countries and each other does not constitute a galvanizing national purpose, but there is no national conversation to validate that belief. Our old story, the American dream of continued prosperity, of American exceptionalism, is no longer believable, yet we still live out of that dead belief. The contrast between the reality of life on the street for the middle and lower classes in America and that of the rich, ruling elite is stark and growing ever more extreme.

'Willful ignorance' is the only possible way the public could believe any of the ideologies they hear in the media. Howard Dean and PBO and Elizabeth Warren offered less ideological narratives. They're not running. Bernie is. Though he represents himself as a socialist, he is not an ideologue.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

5. You're very welcome Sorechasm.

And I agree that swallowing MSM's daily dose of propaganda requires a big gulp of willful ignorance to serve as a chaser to help keep it down. Further, I'd venture to guess that the willful ignorance required for this is primarily fear driven. People don't like bad news, and very very very bad news (our present every day reality) that seems to only get worse without any solutions on the horizon is just too much for the psyche of most. Deep down, people feel powerless, and I believe this must first change before any meaningful societal changes can be brought about.

Put another way, I think we, the collectively world citizenry of ordinary people, will remain powerless right up to the day we finally realize we're not -- a lesson well taught by MLK and not lost on the U.S. black community in his day, but sadly forgotten by most all citizens today.

I recently watched a TedTalks presentation by a man named Rich Benjamin who made some astute observations relevant to the OP I think you might find interesting. Enjoy, and thank you for your contribution to this thread.

Youtube description:

As America becomes more and more multicultural, Rich Benjamin noticed a phenomenon: Some communities were actually getting less diverse. So he got out a map, found the whitest towns in the USA — and moved in. In this funny, honest, human talk, he shares what he learned as a black man in Whitopia.

[sorechasm]

6. 'Individually we've moved forward, but as a community we've gone backward'

A very profound (and brave) young man Mr. Benjamin is. While he may have taken this trip as a journalist, he returned as an ambassador. I'm sure he made some impact on some attitudes, and maybe reduced a few fears along the way. Though the White-Flight people may feel powerlessness (and tend to act on their fears), you can't beat face to face conversations in poker matches and golf outings for sobriety tests. Maybe the State Dept. should invest in diplomatic missions to Whitopia.

I enjoyed that very much.

Thanks again Mr_Jefferson_24!

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

7. Certainly, and glad you enjoyed it.

That was very brave of Mr. Benjamin. His thoughtful observations provide much food for thought as well
as a good starting point for genuine meaningful dialogue.

I agree, you can't beat face to face interaction for raising understanding and dispelling unwarranted fear
of other races/cultures/religions, etc.

As to the State Dept. diplomatic mission to Whitopia, that's an excellent idea -- I'd love to see
a 60 Minutes segment documenting the official State Dept. visit.