Random Stuff XXVI: Politics and Religion Edition

[6_bleen_7]

I'm just wrapping up the first of two consecutive 70-hour work weeks, and thus have had very little time to devote to LiveJournal; but with the upcoming election drawing near, I'll sacrifice a few minutes of sleep to make this important announcement for all Ohioans and anyone else interested in the quality of public-school education in Ohio

Comments

[samwibatt]

That is a goodie.

It sort of works as a thumbnail for my angle on it all, which is that while religious belief itself is often harmless or beneficial, organized religion can act as a center for the craven, authoritarian suck-up-to-power system that usually underlies mass bloodletting. I imagine the same sort of attitude kept (e.g.) Stalin in charge, so it is possible to pull it off without a God-based religion - it's just much more popular, historically, to use the religious approach.

I have a feeling that thinking non-atheists like me wouldn't find it especially offensive, but maybe a bit of overgeneralization. (I'm an agnostic, so I can't claim to "know God" but neither would I say there isn't one [or more]).

[6_bleen_7]

I'm also an agnostic, albeit a militant one (as per the adherents of Slag-Blah); I think of "knowing God" in this context as claiming to know God, as many religions do.

The special thing about religious authority is that to the unquestioning, invoking absolute authority appears to grant absolute power. There's no appeal once God has spoken. I could go on for hours about all the factors that enabled Stalin and Hitler to weild such phenomenal power.

[samwibatt]

The special thing about religious authority is that to the unquestioning, invoking absolute authority appears to grant absolute power.

Agreed. I believe this principle is what led the nation's founders to require separation of church and state - and up until then, there hadn't (AFAIK) been any secular dictatorships. I think the separation of church and state is still essential - but needs to be broadened to include separation of any power-worship and state, including business. I'm no Thomas Jefferson, someone like that is going to have to come up with the kynd words.

IIRC Hitler did lean on religion until he had enough power sewn up - and then he had the crosses replaced with swastikas.

[6_bleen_7]

Sort of; he incorporated the Lutheran church into the Nazi party structure, although the State and the Race were paramount. God was never completely case aside, but rather was identified with all that was good and just about the Reich.

I need to write a post about Disney's anti-Nazi cartoon from World War II. It's fascinating to see what was emphasized to play on Americans' fears and biases.

[samwibatt]

I don't know if I've seen that one - the only one I can think of is their Donald Duck version of Der Führer's Face.

[6_bleen_7]

This one's much darker; I don't think there's one joke in it. But it was included in the DVD you sent me with Der Führer's Face. The Spirit of '43 is chimeric: half cartoonish (though not silly like Der Führer's Face), half hellish-scary war propaganda more befitting the Soviet Union than the US of A.

[6_bleen_7]

That was the Second Ecumenical Council, also known as Vatican II, correct? Tom Lehrer wrote a song commemorating it, called "The Vatican Rag." It's one of his most outrageous pieces (for the time, it was scandalous).

[6_bleen_7]

Thanks for the info! But I have "The Vatican Rag" (and many other Lehrer songs) memorized, so I really don't need (another) recording. In fact, I sang "The Masochism Tango" for our whole department at our retreat several years ago, with my friend Alicia accompanying me on the piano. I still can't believe we did that.

[6_bleen_7]

Somewhere in our department offices is a recording of the performance. It was extremely well received, probably because people had gotten about a two-hour head start on the drinking.

[6_bleen_7]

Gee, I hope not.

[6_bleen_7]

Thanks! It came to me whilst pedaling up a long but shallow incline on my way home from work. Come to think of it, I get inspiration for about half of what I write here commuting to and from work.