PATHOLOGICAL PARADIGMS - The end of the common cold
The Myth of the "Common Cold"
There are several common beliefs held by people in our society that may be counter-productive. The first one that I have noticed is the myth of the Common Cold. Since there is no cure for the common cold, it has occurred to me that the person with these symptoms is better off in conceptualizing the condition as Stress Factor Syndrome or some less negative label. When I find myself with symptoms similar to what I formerly called a "Cold", the condition goes away much faster if it is labeled as a side effect of various stresses rather than given an AMA sanctioned name which can only serve to invest the condition with a will of its own. (see books on nutrition by Adele Davis)
The Myth that "Nature is the Enemy"
The belief that Nature is the enemy has been an implicit part of the North American belief systems since the settlers cleared the land. (I have felt that way myself when surveying the swamps around the Mississippi Delta and dealing with mosquitoes, poison ivy and snakes.) Recent discoveries in ecology about climate change and pollution of the stratosphere have helped to convince a lot of us that it is necessary to co-operate with Nature rather than have an adversarial relationship. (see Silent Spring by Rachel Carson)
The Myth that "You're Safer if You Own a Gun"
The belief that problems can be solved through violence and that having weapons around the house makes you safe has been disprooved by thorough statistical studies.. .Facts index .M.K.Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
The Myth of the "Stork Fairy"
Another pathological paradigm is the "Myth of the Stork Fairy" as it is fed to children in our culture. They are told to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Stork theory of sex education, and the Biblical theory of Creation. Then as the child gradually grows up, he or she is supposed to trade in these myths for an adult view of reality. It seems that some of the adults in our society have not replaced these medieval myths with the modern scientific viewpoints. The results are creating serious problems in several areas of life, both for the person holding these infantile viewpoints and for a society that has to deal with the teen-age pregnancies and the school teacher who has to avoid the major paradigm of biology (evolution) because it is too controversial for the backward parents. (See The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra)
The "Anti-Latex Faction"
Ernie McCracken says:
"And their God is Lord of the Fief. Six days a week they wallow in self-pity, zenophobia, and cholestorol, keeping a hawk's eye to the close-knit penny. Then on the seventh day they grovel before their Lord, eat a monstrous lunch, and return home both sanctified and very drowsy."
"Three hundred sixty-two days a year they revile the poor, squeezing life force from them at the workplaces and chasing them from their doors with curses and state-of-the-art weaponry. Then on three special annual holy days they grow teary-eyed and generous. On two of those days they pool their least desirable foodstuffs and send a great feast of starches to each impoverished family. On that other holy day they send the children of those families a lethal dose of sugar disguised as multicolored treats."
In case you think Ernie is exaggerating, read this passage from " The American Replacement of Nature ", by William Irwin Thompson :
"I am standing in a checkout line in a supermarket somewhere in the middle of Arkansas, a drive away from the village of Fox, and while I am waiting I take a look at the food folks have in their carts, Ring Dings, Twinkies, Tang, Cool Whip, and several two-liter plastic jugs of Diet Coke, and Fruit Loops! People actually buy Fruit Loops down here!"
The crash of the stock market in '87 and the savings and loan crisis have made it clear to most observers what a dangerous myth this was. Our economy may never fully recover from the "trickle down theory" disguised as a new economics. David Stockman has admitted lying to Congress about the numbers and that the entire basis of "Reagonomics" was a "Trojan Horse". Anyone who still believes there was some substance to this garbage probably also believes in the Stork-Fairy. (See Stockman by Owen Ullman)
The "Dead Man on a Stick Schtick"
Modern Christians have a curious religion based on driving their big cars to a Conformist meeting on a sacred day picked out for that purpose by the dictator of Rome. They use a text which was thoroughly edited and censored and re-written by the government censors to say what the fascist government of the Emperor wanted them to believe. To make up for this grievous error the good followers of Swaggart, Bakker and other charlatans have been fed the helpful idea that sex is evil, and that pictures of the "Dead-Man-On-a-Stick" should replace any urges for affection their followers might still entertain. (see The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler)
Worship of Ignorance Among Primitive Christians in Tennessee
Among some factions of the conformist majority, there is the doctrine that ignorance is patriotic and intellectual studies are communist and sinful. ( The Southern Baptist organization has published opinions that Secular Humanism is a competitive religion with different values.) The results of this anti-intellectual belief are starting to be felt as far away from the Bible-Belt as Silicon Valley. The education level of the average high school graduate in America is below that of most of the other developed countries, especially Europe and Japan. The banks in New England are competing with MacDonalds for the limited number of employees who can use a cash register and give correct change. The banks in New York are forced to give classes in elementary arithmetic to high school graduates before they can start learning the tasks of being a teller. The U. S. was the first country to try universal education, but now we are losing the lead in that area because of the trend to give education and intellectual endeavors a low priority in the consensus world-view. (see Mensa Magazine)
Animal Sacrifice among Primitive Christians in North America
The consumption of a large fowl or mammal on feast days is a common part of the religion of the population of this area. The mediocre conformist belief systems in use in the region of North America ascribe virtue to the habit of shooting small birds and animals for sport. At the same time they express concern about movie scenes depicting affection or pleasure. The pattern seems to be that inflicting pain on a member of the under-class or a small animal is good, but experiencing pleasure or showing affection is sinful. Wilhelm Reich called this the "emotional plague" of modern society. (see The Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich and The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen)
Alfreds' law on fundamentalism
"The more fundamental a religion the lower the average I.Q. of its’ adherents."from Alfred Karius' web page
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