[1011] Listen Jesus I Don't Like What I See

Wikipedia defines fascism as, “a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement. characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.”

I want to ensure that I get the comprehensive definition somewhere in my writing situated closely to my next sentiment. I hate religion. I hate your god. I hate your faith. I hate the, extremely human, impulse to see mystery and wonder and giant open questions and slap a self-soothing excuse over any inclination to learn, doubt, work, or hold you and yours accountable.

It’s a persistent hate. It’s a sincere hate. What is more authoritarian than an all-powerful god? What is easier a set of rules to pretend to follow than dictatorial edicts? How “naturally” it follows that those in the majority, or of the same color, or who can sound off the same creeds stand above the “other.” How liberating is it to sublimate individual desire for the glory of the hoard and the eternal reward after death? What could possibly suffice as a big enough lie to get you through your entire miserable life, ensuring that “you” never actually live it, than layers of fascist ideological narrative structures to plug your enfeebled mind into?

If you watch closely, people can’t fundamentally let go of their inherent fascism. If they eschew a god, they’ll worship the state. The state disappoints? There’s any hodgepodge of “individual values” or hobbyist preoccupations that never quite fill the void, but allow for a release of passionate advocacy that looks a lot like political violence and bids to control. Yes, far-left sensitive types who think racist jokes are tantamount to violence literally want to prevent you from speaking in the exact manner that far-right insanity wishes to prevent you from ever remembering what America was supposed to stand for. It’s about control, anticipating the end, and couching your sense of identity and future orientation alongside a pre-approved in-group story.

Simply, there is little to no control. That’s increasingly hard to believe as technology advances and we pretend the algorithms aren’t practically dictating mental health. We pretend that “control” certain groups have is in the form of blunt instrument money waves that get a lot of things wet, but it’s unclear what that moisture does but keep everyone annoyed and catching cold.

It always returns to a lie. The pretend certainty you have about what happens after death gives you cart blanche to pretend about anything for any reason. The pretend fairy tales about souls and babies let’s you remain blissfully unbothered by the science around birth, abortion, or the logistics of handling the 407,000 children in foster care and otherwise abysmal social safety net. How many times do we need to interview someone who says, “This country was founded on God!” It categorically wasn’t, but those giving the liars the mic don’t reflexively stamp the fascist-level ignorance with the truth or implications.

Why not? They’re in authoritarian-adjacent capitalist systems. The flame-war keeps the money going. The fear keeps you watching. Even if a report is as “unbiased” as you can reasonably portray, the dictates of daddy dollar win the day. Every “ist” and “ism” is a shortcut window into someone’s, “Tell me what to do” and, “Use me” sensibility. If I’m racist enough, will you give me more money? If I’m sexist enough, will you excuse our collective mishandling or subjugation of the opposite sex? If I’m a proud capitalist can I bankrupt your town with humble impunity and pollute the world for my starving share-holders?

The truth is pain and sacrifice. The fascist animal is “me me me” and “right now.” It wants the power by taking your life, your control, your agency, and resents any demonstration of responsibility or accountability you might engage in. I brought up 407,000 children earlier. That’s, at best, a lazy taunt to the fascist who can write every atrocity off on “god’s plan.” Those kids are living wonderful fantasy lives, and if nothing else, will certainly be rewarded for their struggles in the afterlife.

This is as familiar and tired a pattern as anything that has ever existed. And It’s reflexive and it’s in every one of us, and depending on the nature of the topic, your fascism will get triggered and feel perfectly righteous. How, ever, do we entertain the Palins, Trumps, Walkers, Boeberts, Greenes? Literally, how can they be a persistent and genuine danger…ever? They’re the hydrogen in a water molecule. There’s 2 people who can be driven mad by any given topic for every 1 person who stays vigilant in checking their biases and messaging or in attempting to think things through. Those pre-water oxygen molecules occasionally persuade one of the two hydrogens to hang out and vote with them for a while instead of drowning us all like an angry ironic god. It’s not a great metaphor, but you get it, right?

This is what Star Trek-dreaming types and scared broken Gen Z people need to figure out. The crazy is within us all. The entitlement takes exactly one generation for you to forget where you came from and feel as though your given “ism” can suffice for the work of writing legislation, holding anyone accountable, or having the conversation about why any of us bother to continue living. “Socialism doesn’t work!” It’s as ignorantly fascist a statement as you can make. It’s not dismissing a definition of socialism; it’s denouncing that we’re social or responsible for each other *by existential definition.* It’s a meta-lie designed to undermine the very concept that we’re actually, fundamentally, connected.

The impulse to lump is a fascist one. There are good psychological reasons our brain condenses things and we create summaries. Then we shit the bed and infuse our lumps with assumptions. We prejudice ourselves against de-lumping. All Blacks this, all Jews that, all women must be controlled etc. We then try to disguise this prejudice under banners of our “values,” “morals,” or “traditions” which act as hate propaganda. “Heritage not hate!” “Blue lives matter!” Our Left fascist counterparts say we have to “defund the police” while deliberately ignoring statistics on actual police behavior. They use media-fueled animosity to make the disingenuous lie that guns, while certainly a problem, are killing significantly more than is actually the case. Sam Harris has a really good talk getting into the numbers on that one I might look up and link here.

It’s our fascist impulses that let power do batshit things like take the world’s foremost innovator and futurist get reduced to pathetic Twitter Nazi. He does not have the wisdom to stop pretending that he can or should attempt to control anything he desires. The “ists” that make him rich design elaborate financial narratives to justify erratic behavior. The “ism” that his family fortune was built on is a not-so-dirty little secret. And we want to marvel at the fallout. We want to be entertained. We want to sit from our authoritarian toilet thrones and levy judgement and situate him against every new name and situation waiting for our engagement.

And it was good.

God, so pleased with himself, so circular in his logic, said it was good - until his fascist tendencies jumped the oxygen atoms and drowned us all.

You’re not up against “conservatives” or “republicans” or sects of historically relevant “fascists,” “socialists,” or “communists.” You’re up against yourself. We live in what I still consider an extremely confusing and painful world where it’s practically a toss up whether a brain-dead lying violent sexually and emotionally abusive cunt will “win” to “lead” against even a basically nice and “normal” person. A person who uses his fascist religious instincts to at least tout the values someone like me wishes we could figure out without sky daddy dictates undermining a robust and mutually-agreed upon means of caring for each other into the future. Jesus doesn’t persuade me not to manipulate and control you, he’s just a persistent nag about your sheepish nature and smirks all the way to the bank at getting you to believe coming back to life constitutes a “sacrifice.” That’s why you have to forgo an individual identity and sacrifice the other. You don’t actually believe him, but you can’t let anyone know that, especially yourself.

I hate that you’re willing able and proud to play this game of self-delusion and self-denial that, not figuratively, gets me and what I care about killed. I’m not naïve about how much needs to die to appease the angry whiny bitch god you pretend to venerate. It’s everything. You literally can’t stop because a lie, a betrayal of that which exists, needs to keep betraying like an infinite Judas. You can’t repent, because there’s nothing to forgive you. And you don’t exist, so you can’t learn how to forgive yourself. So, who’s next to blame?