The World must Conform to 'our' beliefs

‘Cannibalising Culture for Capitalism’ , (C) Dan Gardiner 2021. Used by permission of the artist.

The ideologue is someone who needs, no, demands that the world conforms to their beliefs.

Any evidence to the contrary, is rejected wholesale, with anger and rage cast upon those who are ‘stupid’ enough to counter their beliefs.

The ideologue builds fences and not doorways around the ideological world they have created, with themselves firmly rooted inside that fence. And when the fence is shown to be weak, or dilapidated in some areas, they decide to replace the fence with a wall.

feeding the ideological mind

As for their minds, they only feed it with books, films and artists who shore up this ideological system, thus confirming to the ego, that they have the truth and all others be damned. 

But in all truth, they are building a prison and they assume that in walking around inside their boundaries, that they are free.

This is a prison yard delusion.

the anger and rage of the ideological mind

To those outside, and not incarcerated by these self-verifying philosophies, they will continue to doubt the veracity of these dogmatic beliefs. The prisoner, from time to time tries to silence the incredulous voices, with an anger and rage that turns to hate; an outlet for the venom is found to cleanse the land of those who do not conform to the statutes of prison life.

And so it is in the ideologue’s mind - for both religious and political world-views - even when the 'world' is reduced further in size by fence building projects. Shrinking the land creates a diminishing return on their universal truths. 

And of course, those culturally-minded ideologues will always hope to influence those who come near to the boundary, by whispering in their ears, with simple answers to a complicated society, by claiming that a purposeful life is one which clearly delineates the difference between faithless Them and the faithful Us. For those who hate themselves and loathe their lives, will out of desperation want to pollute the world outside the fence of their ideological prisons. 

For it is true what the mystic said, Humiliated and defensive people do not change - and I would add, that lonely souls seek the company of others. 

Nic and his friends

In the Projects of Bristol, the huddled masses give their passive assent to the State's control of their lives. When I came back to Bristol to find Nic, I saw a world of sadness, of heartless control and the fall into oblivion that comes from people assenting to that mastery. For everything was given to them, but they were not free to pursue their own path. The State gave them everything; save for freedom. There is a line that needs to be crossed, where you decide that freedom is worth a dissenting voice or two to be raised, or that you will be happy with your lot and not cross it. You then become a mere slave.

Some of us decided that dissenting was our most effective means to gain freedom, because you cannot be free when the State is seen as the ultimate authority in every aspect of life; including the ones they have no knowledge of. The struggle for freedom is the high calling for every artist who has a pulse, that is, one who is 'awake'. Sleepwalkers, somnambulists need not apply. This is not a time when we need more propaganda, especially that tied to a State which considers itself the only or last hope for humanity. Such are the claims of idolatry.

The Church joins in with this burgeoning belief in control, pledging its help in the eternal matters of State and to be the spiritual advisers of its Officials. It leaves you with the sense of not having a place to stand, if you seek to work for freedom from tyranny. It is meant I'm sure, to give the sense that both Earth and Heaven are against anyone who resists authority. I'm not sure where Hell stands on this matter.

For Nic and his friends, they need to beware. I believe that once the State detects the presence of dissenting voices, that it will respond with violence, because the fearful always resort to this. If they are confident of their ability to control this outbreak of ‘bad conscience’, their reaction may be limited, but if there is fear within their hearts and at this stage why should they be afraid, then I'm sure the reaction will not be measured, but totally disproportionate.

We are ruled by thugs and the god of the slaves is nowhere to be found.

These are merely the twists and turns they will face on their journey towards becoming a presence that changes society and loosens the iron grip of our tyrant overlords.

Jack Stanza