A question of Faith
Religion is the cursed blessing of the 2004 election.
The Republicans know this, and exploited it to their advantage in a brilliantly devious manner.
Many people are unable, unwilling, incapable of accepting an attempt to question their faith.
That is because Religion offers a stable, rarely changing foundation on which people can base their guiding direction in life. Religion provides a moral compass, a way to divine right from wrong. It offers a purpose to a potentially otherwise disparing life experience. It may be the only source of stability and guidance in a tumultuous existance. It becomes Faith -- the set of core truths which guide every action, every conscious thought to which an individual would willingly lay claim.
And who better to tell someone the immutable truths of the universe than the person who claims divine influence over one's eternal life (and sometimes afterlife)? As such, people are often immersed in the beliefs of their 'chosen' religion from before they can talk, let alone form coherent independent thought.
To question a person's Faith is to attack the very heart of their core belief system. Such an action is a direct assault on a person's value as a human being. It threatens their validity, the sanctity of all they hold true.
Questioning a person's Faith instills fear, and in doing such it suspends rational thought.
Not many people are comfortable being attacked and shaken at such a deep psychological level, nor are they able to willingly and acceptingly free themselves of such a deeply-rooted guiding post for their existance.
In fact, many people are willing to go through great suffering or even die (and some cases kill) for their Faith.
Thus made evident, it is clear that the easiest way to inflame passions or to create a unifying psychological front against an issue is to use the Faith of the people against it.
No group or society that claims to call itself 'civilized' is immune to this flaw of the human psyche.
Not even those who call themselves Atheist.
It is possible to have individuals who are comfortable enough with their position in the universe to be able to accept and analyze attacks on their Faith without ill effect.
It is possible to have a wide enough assortment of small groups of people of differing Faiths in the same general area wherein a directed assault on one will be countered by the opinions of the others.
However with a large enough pool of subjects, it is possible to sway public opinion, if not of an overwhelming majority, at least a vocal enough plurality, toward whatever the intended goal, irregardless of the true relevance toward the Faith-based assault.
It is all a matter of psychology.
The Republicans know this, and exploited it to their advantage in a brilliantly devious manner.
Many people are unable, unwilling, incapable of accepting an attempt to question their faith.
That is because Religion offers a stable, rarely changing foundation on which people can base their guiding direction in life. Religion provides a moral compass, a way to divine right from wrong. It offers a purpose to a potentially otherwise disparing life experience. It may be the only source of stability and guidance in a tumultuous existance. It becomes Faith -- the set of core truths which guide every action, every conscious thought to which an individual would willingly lay claim.
And who better to tell someone the immutable truths of the universe than the person who claims divine influence over one's eternal life (and sometimes afterlife)? As such, people are often immersed in the beliefs of their 'chosen' religion from before they can talk, let alone form coherent independent thought.
To question a person's Faith is to attack the very heart of their core belief system. Such an action is a direct assault on a person's value as a human being. It threatens their validity, the sanctity of all they hold true.
Questioning a person's Faith instills fear, and in doing such it suspends rational thought.
Not many people are comfortable being attacked and shaken at such a deep psychological level, nor are they able to willingly and acceptingly free themselves of such a deeply-rooted guiding post for their existance.
In fact, many people are willing to go through great suffering or even die (and some cases kill) for their Faith.
Thus made evident, it is clear that the easiest way to inflame passions or to create a unifying psychological front against an issue is to use the Faith of the people against it.
No group or society that claims to call itself 'civilized' is immune to this flaw of the human psyche.
Not even those who call themselves Atheist.
It is possible to have individuals who are comfortable enough with their position in the universe to be able to accept and analyze attacks on their Faith without ill effect.
It is possible to have a wide enough assortment of small groups of people of differing Faiths in the same general area wherein a directed assault on one will be countered by the opinions of the others.
However with a large enough pool of subjects, it is possible to sway public opinion, if not of an overwhelming majority, at least a vocal enough plurality, toward whatever the intended goal, irregardless of the true relevance toward the Faith-based assault.
It is all a matter of psychology.