Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Republican Senator Ben Sasse Talks Politics With A Critical Constituent (And The Role Of Religion In Politics) Re: Financial Speculation, Conspiracism, "Christian" "Conservatism," Usury, The Catholic Church And Being Burned At The Stake

Abraham -- the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- preparing to kill his son because God told him to.

Dear Whitney,


Here is how I prefaced my Facebook post of same:

I always listen to Nebraska's Republican Senator Ben Sasse.
Although I have many philosophical and political differences with Sen. Sasse, he recalls the time when Republicans -- like Rockefeller and even Barry Goldwater -- were principled, truth-based, sensationalism-averse partisans.

On some significant level, "Old School" Republicans from "back in the day" were still inclined to blend heart-and-head, whereas today's "Republican" outlook is primarily visceral prostration before the altar of Reality TV (of which Fox News is a sustaining pillar) - and the totally un-compromising, fundamentally-theocratic quest to hurl liberals and progressives "off the island" in order to claim "The Island" as their divinely-ordained fiefdom.
Pat Buchanan, The Republican Presidential Candidate And Living American Who Has Served Longest As Senior White House Official, Says Republicans Are In It For "Power Only" And "To Hell With Principles"
One neat summarization of the GOP's ongoing degradation (whose origins I attribute to Ronald Reagan's 1.) "me generation," 2.) "disrespect for government" and 3.) dog whistle racism... https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/08/ronald-reagan-phoned-dick-nixon-to-say.html) is to note that contemporary conservatives have reverted to the nativist, Know-Nothing, wildly-alarmist and openly racist times which Richard Hofstadter reviewed in his political essay "The Paranoid Style In American Politics," (quite likely the best essay ever written about American political history),
"The Paranoid Style In American Politics," The Definitive Essay By Richard Hofstadter

***

I also intend to elaborate on my "raw notes" -- i.e., filibuster, COVID, originalism and Hillary Clinton's popularity -- but for now I want to provide this incomplete reply so that your welcome email doesn't fall through the cracks. (N.B. In early 2013, Hillary Clinton was the most popular politician in America! If you find that hard to believe, check out: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-clinton/hillary-clinton-most-popular-u-s-politician-poll-shows-idUSBRE9170NZ20130208 )

One last observation...

I cannot quote chapter and verse, but as a young man I was struck by a passage in Carl Jung where he built upon his fundamental observation that "The Religious Instinct" is the most powerful human instinct - more powerful than sex, more powerful than the quest for power.

But starting around the turn of last century, people began to act as if the political instinct were primary, while the religious instinct became (relatively) marginalized. The upshot has been catastrophic. (See Ortega y Gasset below for elaboration of this psychic shift.)

According to Jung's "instinctual hierarchy," "the political instinct" is too shallow a "channel" to accommodate the "contents" of our bedrock "religious instinct."

And so, the "contents" of the "religious instinct" have been increasingly shunted into the much shallower political "channel."

And since the "content" of the religious channel is HUGELY greater than the content of "the political channel," we now live in Perpetual Flood State with the resulting chaos, upheaval, angst, destruction, frustration-and-consequent-anger, punctuated by two world wars, the distinct possibility of another, and scriptural literalists from all three Abrahamic traditions champing at the bit for some kind of "End Time Shootout At The OK Corral) which, while veiled as a cosmic show-down between the forces of "Good" and "Evil," is fundamentally the result of unleashed, uncontained - and uncontainable - politics.

As we now witness in our own political milieu, the upshot is the constant menace of uncompromising religious explosiveness arising from our misplaced obsession with politics.

Why? Because "the magma" of "the religious instinct" simply cannot "settle" into the shallow channel of politics.

And like it or not, the religious instinct is the only domain where flood state political energies can be contained in a "lazy" river deep enough to hold whatever the human psyche can "bubble" up.

I realize that I may sound somewhat pollyannish, but I am NOT saying that restoration of the religious instinct is a panacea.

I am saying that "good religion" is a safer "place" for psychic energies to reside than in politics.

And of course re-establishing the primacy of the religious instinct supposes that religion does not get channeled into politics, at least in a disproportionate, aberrant way.
Excerpts From Goldwater's Remarks To The New York Times
September 16, 1981
With the exception of the first link below, the other three may at first blush, seem -- to a greater or lesser extent -- impertinent.

But in my own ramifyingly "interconnective" way, I think these links contribute significantly to the topic we are discussing.

Excellent Collection Of Hyperlinked "Projection" Memes Featuring The Work Of Carl Jung

Is Ortega Y Gasset The Most Important Modern Philosopher? The Most Discerning Prophet?

Conservatives And Liberals: "How We Ended Up In 2 Totally Divided Camps, Both Convinced They're Absolutely Right"

"Fear And Anxiety Drive Conservatives' Political Attitudes": How The Values Of "Strict Father" -- Or "Nurturant Parent" -- Control Our Political Views

Why I Always Vote And Routinely Compromise My Principles In Order To Elect A Winnable Candidate Who Is "The Lesser Of Two Evils"


Pax et amor

Alan

PS The following link is embedded in one of the other posts I've provided above, but I think you will not want to miss this gem:

"The Story Of Jonah And The Whale"
Retold For The Righteous By Anne Herbert

On Sun, Nov 1, 2020 at 7:09 PM Whitney M wrote:

Dear Alan,
First of all, thank you for your kind words.  Part of that light in my eyes you detect is that I am always happy to see you and hopeful we can engage in a meaningful conversation- something not easy to find these days.  

That Father Merton quote is wonderful (Our job is to love…).  I’m not familiar with him except the quotes I see from you on occasion.  I always love them.  One day perhaps I’ll find a spare minute to look into his life a bit more.

I don’t know if you got a chance to listen to the whole Ben Sasse conversation with his constituents that got so much press.  Of course it was wonderful to hear a conservative Republican speak so candidly and articulately about Trump.  There are also perspectives with which I obviously disagree.  Toward the end he makes some comments about the outsized importance politics has taken in modern life.  Quite interesting. He says they should not be the center of our lives, culture, economics, I think meaning that family, community, work- things that have a chance of uniting us- should be the main focus of our attention (of course these days that means leaving the foxes to have free reign on the chicken coop, but I digress).  I can’t remember exactly what he said but the idea has stuck with me since I heard it and as I continue to ruminate on The Social Dilemma.  It’s a side comment at about the 8:40 mark.  Take a listen: https://journalstar.com/listen-ben-sasse-discusses-president-trump-in-response-to-constituents-question/video_f8707338-498d-53e1-9bb8-0624e137721f.html. I think the whole thing is interesting and mostly it’s been covered only in part for obvious reasons.  Of all of that, the little side comment is what has stuck with me.  I’d be interested in hearing what you think.

As always, thanks for your work.  I really appreciate it even if I don’t always have time to read it all.  The memes are priceless. 

Whitney 



On Oct 31, 2020, at 9:31 AM, Alan Archibald <alanarchibaldo@gmail.com> wrote:

Embedded image permalink  

"The Cult Of Selfishness Is Killing America," Paul Krugman

Caribou, 

At the bottom of this email, you will see an email from American Express concerning my call to them day before yesterday. 

As capitalists go, American Express is pretty much a lesser evil. They provide good, remarkably attentive customer service which, as we recently witnessed, can be forgiving.

Speaking of capitalism, I just learned (from journalist-scholar-progressive activist-author-ordained-Christian-minister, Chris Hedges) that as recently as the 17th century, financial "speculation" (an everyday practice among modern capitalist marketeers) was a capital offense!?! 

In essence, Capitalism was a capital offense.

Speculate... and get burned at the stake.

The inter-related history of "usury" -- which for 1500 years the Catholic church anathematized a particularly abominable sin -- is also worthy of review: 
 
"Is Contraception The New Usury?"

If the church's former proscription of usury were re-instated, the world -- particularly the capitalist world -- would be turned upside down. Totally.

A strong (and I believe persuasive) argument can be made that, once Capitalism got into full swing during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, either the Church or the new capitalist economy had to go, and Catholicism "caved." https://www.britannica.com/topic/capitalism

Of course, "orthodox" believers in the immutability of church doctrine will not (can not) admit this. But it's what happened.

It astonishes me that "conspiracists" (who now congregate on QAnon) will devise conspiracies about ANYTHING, but will NEVER attack the core corruption of Unbridled Capitalism Itself.

"QAnon Anon"

Daniel Webster Prompts A Review Of Conspiracism And Its Destructive Role In American Politics


They can't bring themselves to get to the heart of the matter.

Constitutionally, they are -- in the main -- cowardly pragmatists who cannot "bite the hand that feeds them."

And so they - and the rest of us -- get bitten in the ass.

Conspiracists - and the whole conspiratorial nature of QAnon, now a secular religion with its own "Q-drop" Scripture - never get to the root of things; instead using the distraction of conspiracism itself to avoid The Big Capitalist Questions.

Not surprisingly, they come down on the side of "socialist fear-mongering."

Image result for "pax on both houses" truman socialism
Socialism In American Politics, 2020

My Dad who was a Roosevelt Democrat, voted -- in chronological sequence - for Roosevelt, Socialist candidate Norman Thomas, and Dwight Eisenhower. I believe his reasons for each of these ballots were sound.

***

Here's a pertinent Facebook post I made this morning over a cup of coffee at the Duke Sleep Disorders Center: 

Fr. Thomas Merton Explains -- In 16 Words -- Why "Christian" "Conservatives" Are Always Wrong


Thomas Merton: Our job is to love others – When did you last feel ...

If you don't get it, the following meme may help.

Pax on both houses: The Quintessential Republican Nightmare

Alan: Conservatives would love to be more charitable 
- you know, like Jesus was when he fed the multitude -
but the lazy ne'er-do-wells just don't deserve it.


The fundamental stumbling block in the lives of "Christian" "conservatives" (who are neither) is judgmentalism.

As soon as a Christian conservative can categorize someone as damned, these "good Christians" no longer perceive any urge or need to be kind, charitable or helpful.

To the contrary, as soon as “others” are categorized as "goddamned ne'er-do-wells," they consider it their mission to collaborate in God’s (perceived" wrath, and thus make other people’s lives hell on earth

This is the fundamental revelation of the Trump administration and how his normalized cruelty spread rapid-fire to reveal the long-submerged but always lurking underbelly of the United States.

***
I just got home from my overnight "sleep study." 

As an experience, it was not horrible, but not good either... except for the fact that Carolyn, my somnology tech, got good data.  

Within 7 to 10 business days, I will hear about "the next step" -- quite likely another sleep session to fit me with a CPAP "apnea remedy device" in order to determine what kind of machine -- and what "dial pressure" - best suit me.

I had fun talking with you!

Thanks!

Yuuuvvvvvoooooo!!!

Dman      ðŸŽµðŸ’“🎵

Image result for malefactors of great wealth teddy roosevelt 

Teddy Roosevelt Inveighs Against "The Malefactors Of Great Wealth"

https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2020/10/teddy-roosevelt-on-malefactors-of-great.html

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