Quote of the Week

This is from an article entitled "Atheists Misread the Role of Religion in American Society", by Allan C. Brownfeld, on The Conservative Curmudgeon web site:

"Sociologist Peter Berger of Boston University notes that India is the most intensely religious country in the world and Sweden is the least. He declares that America 'is a nation of Indians ruled by an elite of Swedes.'"

Comment: This is notoriously true but I love his way of putting it. Of course, one could argue that the American way of religion is -- let's say -- a bit more level-headed and rational than the Indian way; I mean, how many religious riots have you attended lately? And how many all-out religious wars have been fought on American soil? (There have been some -- they peaked during the Know-Nothing era, but I count the Waco massacre as an example as well.)

On the other hand, "an elite of Swedes" is a perfect formulation, since it emphasizes the militantly secular humanist nature of our government -- if, paradoxically, not everyone in it. There are, for example, plenty of believers in Congress... maybe even a few good Catholics (although, let's admit, most "Catholics" in Congress should be excommunicated without further ado). But somehow, that foundation of belief never seems to percolate all the way to the top, in terms of legislation, public policy, and so on. And, the most entrenched elements of the government, especially those concerned with domestic affairs, AKA "social welfare" and education, are notoriously secular and anti-religion in their thinking.

But the real story -- "where the rubber meets the road" -- happens on a more local level, when citizens encounter state education bureaucrats and city or county "protective services" agencies. It is in those transactions that the animus the, what I call "termite professions", hold toward religion comes out in its most raw and vicious -- violent, even -- form. And what, pray tell, are the "termite professions"? They are the ones that serve to eat into, undercut, and undermine the foundational ideas of this country, and especially the foundational creeds and moral codes which, even when only implied in the founding documents, were nonetheless assumed and taken as essential to the nation's survival as a moral state with the ability to foster liberty. And where are these ideas undermined on a daily basis, as part of a seamless propaganda apparatus? In the public schools, public libraries, and social welfare agencies. In other words, by public school teachers, librarians, and social workers. These are the "termite professions" -- unsung, often ill-paid, and disrespected by people with ambition. Their members are, by and large, drab, poorly-groomed, and poorly-dressed; "glamour" is not on the agenda. But they are, in fact, the cutting edge of the ongoing secular revolution, and their members serve as the revolutionary foot soldiers -- not in the blatant and up-front way that TV and "Hollywood" do but in a much more subversive way, because, among other things, they capture "hearts and minds" of people at a much earlier and more vulnerable stage... and, in the case of the social work establishment, work through intimidation (in the milder cases) and brute force (in the more prominent cases) to impose right thinking and right acting (according to the Regime) on the citizenry, when it comes to the next generation, which is key. If you talk to any of the adepts among the termite practitioners, they will eventually admit that adults, who are already set in their ways, are hardly worth bothering with; it's the children who have to be captured, brainwashed, and turned into good citizens of the servile state. So that is where they focus their efforts -- and no effort is more strongly focused than the one opposing religion, because religion forms not only the moral sense but also the sense of genuine human rights and freedoms (as opposed to only those the state first defines to suit its own purposes, then grudgingly grants, on condition of strict obedience). Religion, in effect, helps people to establish a moral and ethical foundation or baseline independent of the state and of politics -- and this is most dangerous of all, in the eyes of the Regime and its servants. To think -- to really think -- this is the one thing forbidden. And so we see the public schools doing everything they can to suppress and discourage independent thought... the political organs of society have invented "political correctness", which has fallen like a huge, wet blanket over all vigorous discussion of our most pressing social problems... public libraries have an unacknowledged index of forbidden books that makes the Vatican of old look like a Times Square bookstore... and the social workers go out in platoons, day after day, to enforce not only behavioral rules, but also dress codes and housekeeping codes -- not to mention the strong implication that some religious "practices" are discouraged or frowned upon by the state establishment.

So yes, we are all under the baleful and unsleeping eye of the "Swedes" -- and I don't mean the benign variety that is responsible for IKEA and Absolut. These "Swedes" more closely resemble the Puritans of old, who thought nothing of intruding into people's most private affairs in order to root out all immorality and lukewarmness. They seem -- as is typical of those in the termite professions -- harmless enough at first glance, but they have the crushing power of the state behind them and they are not in the least hesitant about using it. And yes, they will use it, to the extent possible on any given occasion, to crush religion and choke the life out of our liberties. They will then retire to their modest offices with a feeling of satisfaction that their day's work is done and that they have been good and faithful servants of the Regime. They will sleep well, and then awaken to resume their jihad against freedom.

The real heart of the mystery, though, is this: Who put them in charge? And when? At what point was this army of neurotics and scolds given absolute power over all the rest of us -- our homes, our fortunes, our very lives? There had to be a serious disconnect at some point, along the line between the citizenry, their elected officials, and these unelected "enforcers", who are, by and large, in opposition to the values and lifestyle of most of the citizenry. And even if this disconnect could be identified, is there any way to unscramble these eggs -- to reverse this revolution and undo some of the damages, short of bringing the system down entirely? That will have to be a discussion for another time.