Wednesday, 27 September 2023

Secular Surveillance






By: Jonathan Seidel

Secularism’s success is its non-ideological pull while its ties to liberalism have deflated its excellence 


Secularism is noted as a non-religious movement. Yet this is a misnomer. Secularism is neither a movement nor an ideology. It is an ideal. A methodological practice transcending the restricted ideological access. The great secularists are not those who pinned themselves to an ideology but those who moved away from one. The greatness of Spinoza and Newton was for secularism yet one was a religious outcast and the other a spiritual devotee. Secularism is the middle ground of extending beyond the limitations placed. 


Secularism is freedom from, not freedom to. It is an attempt to escape the subdued borders cornering man into submission. Rules and policy limit his range of capability. Caging him like a rat in the dire solitude of despair. He must remain in the lines. The capacious area is an illusion. The red lasers are diametrically intersecting awaiting the fool to attempt to enter the seemingly safe space. Making all sorts of threats to maintain their numbers. Coercing conformity through fated desires. His movements are monitored by the hidden cameras. Spying on constituents to ensure no deviation. He assumes he has room to manoeuvre but he is just a dog in a backyard. Permitted to leave the house but still on the property closed off by the white picket fence surrounding the house. The grassy area is a taste of liberty but is a limited privilege.


Secularism is a public deviation from the norm. He does not bear to continue living a lie inside the city. He must escape. If not by choice than by force. He recedes from the universal for his reasoning. He is unable and unwilling to live a hypocrite devoid of honour. It is a prideful moment whereby he excuses his comfort for controversy and confrontation. He gives up serenity for struggle. No one knows his blasphemy until he reveals it. If he keeps it in his head, there is no trouble. No animosity nor ill feelings. Upon opening up his arrogant mouth, the problem begins. Protesters lay their arguments at his feet in a shield wall. They raise their spears in unison melded together to fend off the adversary. They play their spells to expunge his devilish ideals. His public display is a shot at his former clan. He is raising inquirers that are frequently swept under the rug. Questions prohibited to speak of. Silent acceptance is the way of the group. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.


Secularism relinquishes such disgusting arrogance. It powers through in confident motoring. The dogmatic nightmare is overpowered with a tranquil exit. While city officials place fire pits on the outskirts of the city to preserve its holiness, this action is restricting. The enflamed walls cutting off an exit to the outside world is generally recklessly ignored. The individual’s momentary lapse in judgement questions its merit. For a moment, a dramatic change in his perception is riddled with stressful overhaul. He begins to fret and anxiously covers his head with hands swaying panting in disbelief. Delusional, he shouts instinctively at the false dud in front of him. His momentary madness alters his visual excellence to illusionary trickery. As the moment passes the figure disappears and he gathers himself quickly. Looking sideways to ensure no one has seen his mistake. Apologising for his outburst to concerned eavesdroppers. It was an accident in a moment of weakness. He takes a deep breath calms his mind and rationally deduces the societal need. In his socratic ingenuity, he approves of this legislation and returns to the fold. 


Secularism is the gnawing growl in the night sky. The whispers frequent in the ear. His societal immersion salvages his sanity. He is shielded from this dangerous attack. His doctrinal belief protects his mind in narrowly fuelling a walled echo chamber. His cyclical logic aids in ignoring false ideas. He can overcome the blasphemy with sheer will. His conviction creates a forcefield. This forcefield is empowered by the sun’s rays. The light bolsters his shield’s might vanquishing the whispers. They cannot survive in the pure light. They shrug off the shield melted by heat rays. At night, the moon reduces the shield's energy. The shield is not impenetrable. His tiring brain and loneliness decrease the shield’s power allowing the whispers to seep through. They try to overwhelm his will to follow their ideals. The whispers are coercive but his convictions and phobic uncertainty enable him to manage his confidence. He strengthens his shield in fearful consequentialism. Yelling no to the whispers actively pushing them away. 


Secularism haunts the innocent. The individual pure of heart is immune to the whispers but not everyone is angelic. The whispers peck at the weaker spots. Each day marking a bigger dent. His shield is strong and he prepares for the dreadful evening. If he is not careful the whispers will overwhelm him. His shield only revives in his conviction. It is entirely on him. If he is negligent the whispers will seep through the crevasses infecting his mind. Once they have planted their seeds, they cannot be easily removed. The shield can exterminate the seeds internally but he must be aware of their existence. He must stop them before they grow too large. Once they are inside, their impact is much stronger. He begins to ponder more and more, questioning himself to a dangerous degree. Focusing too much on the incoming whispers forgets those who have made their way through. He must examine if they have penetrated the shield. Growing irregular thoughts is a symptom of their development. He must seek a witch doctor to save him. Undergo therapy to purify himself of this disease. 


Secularism is a disease in need of medication. Divergence is the key realisation of the wound. Terrible aspirations of disassociation and harmful jargon hurt his heart. Why is he thinking of such terrible thoughts. An isolating mentality decrying unity. He desperately wishes to end this travesty plaguing him. He opines to mentors and friends to rescue him from this torture. At the same time he fears to open up in fear of judgemental neglect. Will his friends sympathise or scorn. He anxiety flares in this heated unknown. Uncertain of which step to take. He may be able to forcefully overcome this disease with his own will. It is possible but not simple. A difficult trek but a possible one. Yet while he may avoid external scowls he is battling alone. He is trying to self medicate. He is a novice and uneducated in this matter but his fear of alienation pushes his solo recovery. If he decides to confide in another, the confided expects his advice to work. The confided will work tirelessly to ensure the confider is compensated but there is a limit. Some patients are beyond medication. Some are doomed. Will the confided keep his mouth shut in sparse confidentiality or spill the beans ruining his reputation. 


Secularism deceives well intentioned people into devious actions. An individual may fend off the whispers attacking in their fluid form. They have yet to penetrate and control an individual. Yet he is vulnerable to others. He wishes to be included and respected. To accomplish this feat, he converses with his neighbours. An infected friend will turn the conversation south gradually. Out of nowhere throw a sucker punch knocking him on his back. The surface level quality dialogue transitions to deeper valued speech. In respect of his friend he responds in kind. Words become emotionally charged in their qualitative fluidity. The punches increase in their force pushing him back. Turning the conversation to a merited avenue intensifies but also opens him to a sympathetic retrieval. His infected friend turns on a dime from the accepted norms to irregular ideas. His convictions brush off these punches easily. Security is tighter but he has also welcomed his friend into his bed chamber. Into his intimate vulnerable area. His power is centred but it also can be infected due to its proximity. He may ignore the irregular claims right away but it may linger in his soul. 


Secularism plagues society in a preordained epidemic. A contagious curse spreading from one person to another. An infected person can infect others by talking to them. Passing on the message subtly or bluntly. Even the rejectionist does not escape unharmed. He may flee immediately ensuring any further damage but the damage is done. The infected has breathed on him. The vicious idea is latent in his mind. With more exposure will blossom, it just needs more water to bloom. Once it is planted in the mind it cannot be undone. Medication is the sole remedy and still may not be enough. In a word, he may be screwed. The infected will devilishly continue to engage with innocent others infecting them. Gaining their trust and deceiving them to their doom. The infected are zombies. They have no control, it is not their fault. It is a danger that if not stopped will destroy the kingdom. The masses must be protected from this deviating insight. Satanic whispers cannot be expunged but shields can repel their penetration. Zombies must be dealt with. An unfortunate reality but once fallen, beyond the pale of recovery. Drastic measures must be executed for the sake of the kingdom. 


Secularism is the devil’s work in need of purification. The ideological castle maintains its sturdy walls fortifying its defence. Fearing a Jericho repeat, the walls are installed with extra power to repel the inevitable impact. These whispers are not brute force but the slow knife that happens upon the individual without notice. The assassin and his silent killing. The attack is subtle but disastrous. A polemic swiftly manoeuvring through the city infecting person to person. The soul is tarnished and there is little room for recovery. The sword cannot stop the invisible swipe. The infected are sidelined in their mania. Exile or death are the two possibilities. Isolating them to a secure facility where they cannot hurt others is the solution. Marginalised for the greater good. Speaking out of line calls for therapeutic cooperation. The devil entered his soul and coerced him to speak ill. The saint may be powerless. The infection capturing his soul is beyond saving. Breaking the ideological hold is a big no-no. Order is maintained for a reason. Without, chaos will run rampant. Chaos must be contained for the betterment of society. The devil cannot be allowed to win.


Secularism is the transitional stage to a new movement. Deviants are shunned and exiled for their ideas. Their successors infected by these ideas compile and organise the ideas into an ideology. The pioneers once punished for their insolence are championed as saints. The fearful order resents the deviants’ dissent polarising their ideas into an enemy. They create the monster they wish to expel. At first, it is mere fragments questioning certain aspects but in tormenting opposition, it organically develops into a monster hellbent on surviving the ferocious firepower. Successors build it up hanging on for dear life against their former group. In memory of the pioneers, they construct their own order diametrical to the former group. Systematically formulating an exact replica with philosophical modifications. The devil in hell returns to his angelic form on earth. He is purified finally accepted for his good intent. Yet the former group still sees the devil’s face unable to adjust their eyes to the new reality. The purified devil shines a light to mould a new order. A modified version of the old. 


Secularism decays in societal formulation. The momentary liberty to venture into the unknown produces new results. It then abruptly halts in creating an imperfect painting of the pioneer’s plans. They sanctify the pioneers with godly influence and march a profanity into the abyss. They create the monster they wished to escape. The former ideologues recreate a novel ideology. They have simply switched teams but have yet to relinquish their monolingualism. Without realising, they become an identical replica of the old. They are a replicant unaware of their own hypocrisy. They share the same policies as the old, albeit developed. Deviants will emerge in this society as well. It is an inevitable consequence. The imperfect society cannot accept its faults. The deviants are hunted like they were in the past. The nod to deviation is outlawed. There is never permission to go against the grain. Once a system is constructed with its beliefs, dogma is inherited and applied abrasively. A few will breakthrough and suffer the punishments. They will then be martyred and their ideas codified in a new society. It is an endless cycle of ideological monism, hating variance.     

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