I wimped out....

I'm lazy, so I'm posting an old facebook note. My main point here is that while there is such a thing as absolute truth, people seem to take for granted that which may or may not be true. Like, modernist thought, for instance.

Here's a thing I've been thinking on concerning ideology, mainly drawn from a course I took in my first semester (a course that blew up my world): 

Essentially, I've learned that ideology is not a negative term. Rather, in this sense, it is the framework of what we could call "basic beliefs" that allow a person to more easily interact with their society. Without a framework of beliefs that say such basic beliefs as "This our society's current definition of the word 'God'," it would be impossible for humans to interact with each other. In essence, this paper (or at least my course) claims that every belief, from whether or not pelicans feed their young with their own blood (the reason that many old Christian prayers refer to Jesus as the "great Pelican," lol), to the definition of "Falling in love," is a belief that constructs the framework of countless beliefs that we call "ideology." This ideology, also, pervades every aspect of our lives, from our psyche, to our current economic system.

A case in point of an ideological belief's affect on our current lives:

 Descarte develops the idea "Cogito, ergo sum," "I think, therefore I am". 

(Now, whether or not Descarte intended these following interpretations of his statement is of no consequence, for this is the way his statement has affected the ideological framework of our society, and thus 

economic systems, etc.)

This statement implies: 

- Truth begins with MY human thought, MY human mind; the individual's thoughts, (evaluated from the individual's perspective); it is the bedrock of knowledge and truth, whereby we begin the journey of knowledge, faith, etc.

- Truth begins with MY mind, and other claimants of knowledge and authority, ie the church, the king, Scripture, etc. are obviously not the same as the MY mind

- Therefore, statements of the Church, king, etc. ought to be evaluated according according to my own sensibilities of truth, knowledge, and reason.

-Those beliefs which do not agree with my individual mind, (seeing as MY individual mind is the bedrock of truth and knowledge), are to be either ignored, modified, or rejected in order to conform more closely to my own particular notions of truth and reason.

-The  only way in my belief system, (which exists in my individual mind), can change is if a certain belief comes to seem more "rational," or "true" from extended evaluation (agan, this evaluation is from an individual's perspective).

     Now, other beliefs can possibly trace their origin to this statement, or at least are influenced by the "Cogito, ergo sum.":

-the percieved moral, political, and rational supremacy of the individual over institution

-this individual supremacy leads to the favorable view of democracy as the best current political system, with its emphasis on individual supremacy, and its belief that power is given to the institution by "the people" (or rather, the collective will of individuals)

- capitalism rises as the dominant economic structure, with its emphasis on individual work ethic, and attributing a person's economic status as the result of the individual's personal effort.

- Truth is relativized in an attempt to reconcile the seemingly contradictory beliefs that 1. an individual has the ultimate ability to find truth, and 2. Individuals have different beliefs concerning what is "true". Instead of denying or modifying the belief in the individual's ability to find truth, the different notions of individuals are called "THEIR truth" or "MY truth," or even going so far as to be self referentially incoherent and claim that "there is no truth."

it goes on and on. My point is, much of what we hold to be most dear is, in essence, the developments of society (Descartes himself would not have written "Cogito, ergo Sum" at all if the ideological framework of his time granted relevance and meaning to that statement.). I'm not saying that such beliefs are necessarily untrue, but we certainly should not take them for granted as being "true."

Sorry I wrote so dang much. You don't have to read all of it, but whatevs.

On Money Problems...

Dear readers (if there are any),

   Sorry for my not posting lately. I was out camping until yesterday, and yesterday I was too conflicted over what to write, (and I was also being lazy). I was going to write a post about Downfall, a very excellent film. But it's about Hitler. So instead of being a Debbie Downer and writing about National Socialism, I'm going to write about Western Capitalism.

   I know that half of you have stopped reading this post since I mentioned "Western Capitalism." But I promise not to write an essay about its origins, or destroy your patience with a long winded post about Marxist vs. Keynesian economics. I want to talk, instead, about us. And about big buildings.

   I currently have a tab on my browser that says "Men's 2012 spring fashion trends." I have a hymnal waiting for me at the post office, and I have been thinking of multiple cheap ways to get another tie to match my countless bengal striped shirts. I am quintessential consumer.

   And yet, why do I feel so scandalized when I see fancy churches, with stained glass and paintings and all those extra odds and ends? I buy stuff to make myself to look better; why should I feel like a church (which does a lot more to help the world in which we live) should be a sparse and warehouse of Jesus?

   The logic really breaks down when we compare churches to corporations. In medieval times, churches were the tallest buildings in the entire village. Now, in practically every city in the world, skylines are crowded with high rise condos and corporate offices, buildings dedicated to the pursuit of money and bastions of capitalist greed. We drive past these buildings without taking a second glance. Some of us even work in these giant buildings. Some people even revel in it, taking pictures in places like Times Square, literally the most advertised space in the entire world.

   And yet we feel disgusted when we see a big church. What's up with that? It seems so weird to me that we have all these huge skyscrapers that, according to Fr. Robert Barron, are "Monuments to consumerism" and "Temples of materialism" while most churches are struggling to maintain their mortgage payments.

   What does that say about us, the consumers? What are we doing to contribute to a world in which corporations can build massive spaces without batting an eye, and small tiny churches are going bankrupt? Even as a college student, I can see ways in which I can contribute more to my church, but I feel such a desire to spend my money on cute shirts, shoes, and other paraphernalia.

What's up with that?

Tie guy

PS After many of my protestant friend's concerns that my comparison between protestants and the devil could be construed as offensive, I have edited it to show that I am merely joking. Sorry for my veiled sardonicism.

PPS Hooray for Jessica Davis, who got baptized on Saturday!!!! Praise be to God who has now brought her fully into the (c)atholic Church!

PPPS If you don't want to see more days without posts, you better give me some ideas of what to write about            next.