A function of community

I find god to be an important construct of human consciousness. This construct serves community values and perpetuates societal beliefs very well by the abstract nature of biblical storytelling. It allows preachers to craft their lessons on a personal level while simultaneously rooting their own values into a largely inclusive domination-based system of values, morals and punitive education.

I think these are important things for much of society, especially with the rather incomprehensive nature of US education. US learning systems are the perfect amount of incomplete to make room for a religious system’s influence and the perpetuation of family beliefs.

When deeply considered, this is good for the governing systems in the US. It means people are “smart” in ways that serve how much of US society is run and “dumb” in ways that make people malleable rather than self-aware and intellectually flexible.

I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I’m saying it serves the purpose of maintaining community cohesion and offering a “safe” place to congregate. Our issues don’t tend to actually be religion. The problems with religion are rooted in archaic prejudices, thought patterns and contorted sense of loyalty. Unfortunately, US society preaches that twisted sense of loyalty quite well in general.

I think loyalty is a somewhat dangerous concept. Loyalty implies some people are worthy and others are not. It sits firmly within domination education systems and systems of social control.

That’s not a “bad” thing. Good and bad are also domination concepts. Religion allows for a safe place to meet human social needs. It allows for a communal connection to meet needs while simultaneously letting people know a healthy way of relating in the way our system is built. It also allows for an amount of intellectual variability… and makes room for abstract thinking with some of the ways scripture is written.

There are certain people who think in ways that allows a degree of cognitive flexibility… freedom from the rigidity of “literal word of god” thinking. These are the people who can unconsciously view religion as a system. That’s a healthy way of thinking. Unfortunately, many religions serve punishment and shaming for voicing abstract thought.

If we didn’t have large scale religious institutions, our world would be far too uncoordinated. I agree with this. I also believe there is room for adjustments which seem to happen very slowly… slower than generationally. There is space for generational change but the ways family beliefs fit in also makes this change difficult.

I think real change needs to happen at the level of public education. However, I believe religion offers a safe place to exist with how things are.

The issue herein, for me… is that society also prioritizes breeding above all else and religion prioritizes multiplication without consideration for overpopulation or consumption of environmental resources. I am childfree and chose to have a surgical procedure for sterilization to prevent becoming a “breeder.” By my definition, a breeder is someone who sacrifices their future and changes their entire identity for the sake of a child or believing it will fill their life with meaning when they can’t truly be a good parent until they’re fully healed, self-aware and self-fulfilled. Breeders only depend on systemic resources and often burn themselves out with a grind mindset exclusively focused on earning for their kids with zero downtime for rest, creative fulfillment or mindfulness.

I believe society has a lot to work on in terms of human rights and liberties along with understanding and meeting all foundational human needs. There is a fundamentally damaged view of “alternative lifestyles” because there’s a fundamentally flawed perspective on identity and lifestyle to begin with. The way anyone lives is an alternative lifestyle to someone and if they’re not us, it’s an alternative lifestyle to us.

It may all start with communication skills. Our school could teach them… but they don’t. What’s worse, to me… is that many people have been conditioned to believe “everyone communicates differently” or “what works for someone doesn’t work for another” which does not necessarily apply for communication skills in the way they seem to intend. Empathy is a necessary part of communication skills and it’s a way of becoming aware of and connected with another person with the wholeness of how we meet ourselves. Empathy and communication can both be trained and nurtured… it’s not a birth-defined thing. These are socially conditioned constructs that could easily be standard education.

We could prevent so much suffering by merely accepting others and their preferences. This includes reducing violence, encouraging social support and being aware of when someone needs it and limiting the level of loneliness and shame resulting from living or loving differently from others.

It all boils down to intention. What does our current governing system wish for its people. Self-sovereign capability and freedoms of love, choice and empathy-driven social support or codependence?