I am still fascinated by the aftermath of the failed Judgement Day Rapture event, which successfully didn’t start with loads of earthquakes at 6pm, and didn’t beam-up the thousands of waiting Christians. I know that in some ways it’s very cruel to keep laughing and pointing, but people do need to take responsibility for their own brains.
With a few exceptions, we all have brains that can work things out, and they should have sussed this wasn’t real. Indeed, they should have sussed it was just the belief and the words of one man, Harold Camping. To put so much ‘faith’ in the random utterings of just one person is ridiculous. No checking with other scholars of the subject? Nope. No examining alternative ideas? Nope. No wondering why the rest of the world, especially your friends and loved ones, thinks you are raving mad and has tried to talk you out of it? Nope.
It’s a bit like the kid who we’ve cruelly told Father Christmas exists (now that to me is child abuse!) and that Santa will definitely, 100%, guaranteed, honest guv, be coming down the chimney on December 25th. The kid excitedly built up their anticipation, hopes and dreams, counting down the days until Christmas. They forced themselves to stay awake all night to see – nothing happen.
Cruel.
Harold Camping was far far crueller.
He got people to sell all their things, leave wives and children behind, and join in with all the rubbish, build up their anticipation, hopes and dreams, only to see – nothing happen.
Deep inside, these ‘victims’ must have known they were being set up for a fall, surely? Why did they want or need to believe the bogus promises of just one man?
It seems to be a very human trait to be a sheep. A gigantic number of us, and I include myself, are drawn to believing ultimately just one person and whatever raving bonkers thing they wish to promote, declaring them our ‘leader’ and ‘following’ them.
I’m not just talking about the millionaire con-men who live off people stupid enough to believe in Christianity, but generally too.
Fashion, music, politics, even what we eat is decided by other people that we ‘follow’. Usually we’re not following a committee, but just one person. Historically we like to have a single person as our ‘leader’ – President, Prime Minister, King, Lord, Master, Prophet, God – anything but a committee. Indeed, where there is a committee, we will highlight for our attention and adoration the chairman. We don’t feel safe with more than one person at a time, we want just one and one only. Once we have picked ‘the one’ we find it very hard to disbelieve them or to ‘grow out’ of hanging on their every word and showing them our complete devotion.
So, why do we do this? It must have some function it the evolutionary scheme of things, but is it still necessary to do it today? I feel at this point that it, a bit like religious faith, is holding our development back. I’m not saying we shouldn’t listen to certain people, or enjoy their music, their fashion, their acting, or their oratory. Maybe we need to put it into perspective and not idolise it (or them) and never accept anything as gospel, especially if only one person is saying it.
Whoops, ‘gospel’ might be a bad word of choice under the recent circumstances.
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