The Normal Insanity of Modern Culture Part 1

The Normal Insanity of Modern Culture Part 1

by brandon | Apr 25, 2016 |

It’s possible to become so smart that you're actually stupid.

Likewise it’s possible to be so sure about your assumptions that you blindly accept them with out any questioning, inquiry, or examination.

This creates the perfect storm of ignorance when you take a young child with no critical thought capacity or sense of identity and then surround him or her with an ocean of stupidity, appearing as intelligence. This child simply accepts things as they are, even though it probably goes against what he deeply feels and knows to be true---it must be true, since it’s coming from the godlike authority figures.

Add into this mix a lifetime of education which suppresses and diminishes the capacity of free thought and critical thinking while further framing the basic stupidity appearing as intelligence as the only way to achieve success, security, safety, and love.

From this eco-system, it is easy to see how a person would not really question anything while also being completely okay with the fact that they’re not questioning and this not even really engaged with in their own life experience. I know there are plenty of people who tell themselves they are questioning things and being alternative but the reality is that this is largely only to gratify their own self image as being that kind of person or to fulfill some other kind of emotional agenda.

The majority of the time this is still operating with in the same ocean of stupidity like believing being a Republican over a Democrat or Atheist over Theist actually represents some kind of free thinking, creativity, or sense of individuality. It’s like going to the shopping mall and believing that shopping at LuluLemon instead of Abercrombie somehow makes you superior in someway. The reality is that you doing the same act with in the same eco-system for the same reasons, so it’s hardly much of an alternative.

As modern humans it’s fair to say that we believe that we are quite advanced and intelligent and that our basic understandings about the world are pretty spot on. I feel like quite the opposite is true in that we are quite stupid, primitive, and superstitious because we are unaware that our modern paradigm is based in largely unproven assumptions, which quite often contradict our real experience, and thus create discord and disharmony.

I realize this is article is going to sound a bit crazy for a few reasons:

    Im probably the only one reading this who has deeply felt feelings of separation, isolation while also noticing myself believing things that were not true.(sarcasm)
    What Im pointing at it so commonplace that it’s likely hard to see, kind of like the whole fish in water syndrome.
    How could something so incorrect be so widespread? How could we have made such a gross and tremendous error as an evolving species?

The first example is that we feel like our advanced and superior to all other culture from all times because we now have our modern understanding of chemistry through things like pharmaceutical drugs and mainstream medicine. We think we are smart because we have taken a plant and reduced it down to something like 55 chemicals and then isolated only one or two which we believe are the true “active ingredients.” We congratulate ourselves in this achievement and found massive institutions on this arrogance failing to realize how stupid and short sighted this approach really is.

Yes, maybe we’ve identified 55 chemicals, but what about the 55 others we haven't yet identified? Why only 55? Who decided that was a sufficient amount and why?

Are we aware that whatever we might discover be dependent upon our present level of technology?

Are we aware of the complex interrelatedness of all of these chemicals, do we fully understand that how much interrelates with each other individually as well as collectively?

Do we see this this mindset predisposes us to disrespect our basic humanity and integrity by treating people and life itself as a kind of cooking class, where in health or disease just comes down to the right ratio of the right ingredients?

By buying into this kind of mindset are we also able to accept the karmic load by justifying the actions, positive and negative, of this paradigm?

Perhaps this might be important things to consider and reflect upon.