In Frank Herbert's great book Dune, an oft repeated phrase is 'Fear is the Mind Killer.' True, usually, however, fear can be used. Fear, when controlled, can bring the mind to a razor sharp edge, for awhile. If uncontrolled, or if it continues for too long, the mind buckles from stress and thought, clear thought, becomes impossible.
In the first 4 parts of this series, I have traced the mind-boggling rate of change we have seen in the last 150 years. It has been exciting and it has been draining and nothing slows down. Still, we have to cope. The fear response to such change is understandable, but we have to take a few deep breaths and get over it. In the past, change was dealt with by relying on an underlying system of thought, a world view, and these changed slowly. We no longer have that option or that crutch and far too many are looking at past views of our place in the World in hopes of finding security.
Often, such world views are bound to religions, so let's look there. Much of the World is Hindu or Buddhist and those views can be discounted because they largely view this World as unimportant. True, that might help you cope but only if you basically just want to opt out of the whole deal. Tempting, perhaps, but in the long run, unsatisfying.
Judaism is no longer a major player on the World scene. To put things quite bluntly, their insistence on following an ancient set of tribal laws is not even too appealing to most ethnic Jews. However, there traditions are being kept very alive by the insanely fanatic Moslems who are wreaking so much havoc. The fundamentalist Islamic movement does not, as has been stated, wish a return to the Middle Ages, they wish a return to the ancient days of Biblical tribalism. Sharia law is nothing more than an especially harsh, literal interpretation of Levitical law, a frightening concept given how harsh those laws are. True, they wish to re-establish the old Caliphate, but then they would turn the clock further back. Why? People who are so frightened of the present, so terror stricken at a vision of the future they cannot understand, will seek refuge in the past.
The Christian world is little better off. The Catholic Church went through centuries of trying to dominate the World and finally gave up, but today, there are still those who long for a return to a Medieval-like world in which the Church is the Law and I would not be surprised to see the Church make some sort of last effort toward those ends. The Protestant Churches, especially those teaching a literal interpretation of the bible, make clear their belief that they will one day, sit with the Lord as rulers of the World, which will, conveniently at that point, consist of nothing but Protestant Christians, since everyone else will be in Hell.
All of these religions base their beliefs around the Jewish Old Testament. The New testament and the Koran use that book as their base. One big problem, years of research by dedicated historians, archeologists and linguists have shown that the tales of the Old Testament are, for by far the most part, either total fabrications or extreme twistings of what really happened. You cannot use a book as the basis of your belief, of your world-view, and claim that you have the truth that will prevail, when that book is full of half-truths and out-and-out lies.
The more rational among us have their own problems. Many of these folks wish a return to the Enlightenment, The Age of Rationalism, and its Clockwork Universe. They wish to view the World as a great machine, humming along steadily and mechanically like a giant wind-up toy. Well, sorry folks. Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Theory put an end to all that. The Universe is unfathomably weird and we have just scratched the surface. To all those seeking comfort in the thought of a cold, mechanical world, sorry, that ship sailed about 100 years ago and you missed the boat.
Finally, a word about the so-called New Age beliefs. These are basically based on simplistic versions of science and even simpler versions of the old pagan beliefs. The key word there is simple, as in simple minded. Learn some real science and a bit of real anthropology, and learn that quantum theory does not mean that the Universe is just what you want to think it is and that some of those old pagans you want to follow were bloodthirsty monsters. Then, if you still believe in all of that New Age BS, please consult a therapist, because you need serious help.
So, to wind up this series, I guess I should offer some smooth, easy answers, some profound wisdom. Sorry, I have nothing. Until we slow down, think things through and open our minds to what we are learning, we will have these wretched wars and unwarranted sufferings. All I can say is that the way forward is not back. Look at history, learn from it, save the good, save what works and jettison the rest. You do not need to carry old baggage on a new trip. What works? That's easy. Be kind. Try not to judge your fellow humans harshly; they make mistakes, so do you. Be open minded, but not bubble headed. Be tolerant, but do not let yourself be bullied. Have some fun, it's good for the soul, body and mind. Avoid violence in all but the most extreme cases, but fight if there is no other way. Last, think, with your head and your heart.
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