A Society without Soul
The following sentiment has been one of the subjects of discussion at cloudstrider.com recently, here, here and here; in general, the arguments that have been coming up are not only is there a general listlessness in society as we know it, but that there's also a lack of a positive-feeling consensus among those who are motivated.
We Need Soul
"The tightest, soundest arguments hold nothing to soulful, articulate, impassioned speech. This is not to advocate abandoning the former in favor of the latter. But, rather, great arguments deserve to be articulated with soul. (It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that...er, soul.) I've been thinking about this point the last couple of days because of some discussion I've had with some friends about the Christian Left. For pretty much the first century-and-a-half of American history, the Christian Left was a force to be reckoned with in American politics and society. Left-leaning Christianity formed the backbone of reform movements, culminating in the Progressive Era. They were inspired to progressive, social action based on their interpretation of the Bible. This seems foreign compared to the political discourse of our country right now. It's not that there are no left-leaning Christians; in fact, there are countless folk who identify as such. But, rather, they are not a political voice. The discourse of the country now associates devout Christianity with rightist, reactionary thought. And that's a shame.
So this discussion has combined in my head with the impression a couple of speeches that I've seen recently have left on me. One was Charlie Chaplin's big closing speech from The Great Dictator. This hit me like a hammer when I first saw it. (And it still does.) Such passion is so foreign to most of us anymore. Of course, Chaplin's passion resulted from horrendous historical circumstances, and I hope that it doesn't take something like a world war to inject soul back into society. The second speech I saw was Bono's acceptance of an award from the NAACP. The speech was fair, but it was incredibly moving compared to most things we hear these days. And it wasn't forced; it was truly felt. You can toss around all of the terrible stats concerning disease in Africa that you want, but they won't get as much attention as something said with soul. I don't mean angry shouting which only annoys most people. I mean, the soul of a preacher--an approach that inspires people. (And this is exactly what Bono did.)
Most Americans, if not most people in the so-called 'Western-world' are drugged by consumerism; we are kept preoccupied with buying things. A depressed individual is inclined to seek comfort in buying material items. Feeling blue? Just go to Walmart and buy yourself a shirt and a couple of new CDs! Well, no: Just as doing so doesn't cure an individual's depression, it also does not cure a society's listlessness. And that is what we are, listless. We need a strong new dose of spirituality, another Great Awakening. I don't mean any specific religion, denomination, or philosophy, but a wider sentiment of spiritual motivation, just as we saw in the previous Great Awakenings. Participants can range from devout believers whose faith you will never shake to outright atheists. What matters is that the new discourse needs to a be a shared, positive spirituality, focusing on hope, progress, solutions, and action, and not a reactionary, backward-looking, exclusionary movement, which, unfortunately, is what marks the mainstream right now.
We need to add soul to our logic.
Soul and brain must wed. And the message must not only be one of disgust, anger, and sadness, but also one of one of hope, inspiration, and love. Love of life, love of Earth, love of humanity. These words must be understood and not tossed off as "hippie fluff." They hold meaning. Disgust, anger, and sadness. Hope, inspiration, and love. There's a tension that comes from this mix, and that is soul itself. It's energizing, and that's something that we need."
All are welcome to discuss below or to continue conversation at cloudstrider.com, here, here and/or here.
We Need Soul
"The tightest, soundest arguments hold nothing to soulful, articulate, impassioned speech. This is not to advocate abandoning the former in favor of the latter. But, rather, great arguments deserve to be articulated with soul. (It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that...er, soul.) I've been thinking about this point the last couple of days because of some discussion I've had with some friends about the Christian Left. For pretty much the first century-and-a-half of American history, the Christian Left was a force to be reckoned with in American politics and society. Left-leaning Christianity formed the backbone of reform movements, culminating in the Progressive Era. They were inspired to progressive, social action based on their interpretation of the Bible. This seems foreign compared to the political discourse of our country right now. It's not that there are no left-leaning Christians; in fact, there are countless folk who identify as such. But, rather, they are not a political voice. The discourse of the country now associates devout Christianity with rightist, reactionary thought. And that's a shame.
So this discussion has combined in my head with the impression a couple of speeches that I've seen recently have left on me. One was Charlie Chaplin's big closing speech from The Great Dictator. This hit me like a hammer when I first saw it. (And it still does.) Such passion is so foreign to most of us anymore. Of course, Chaplin's passion resulted from horrendous historical circumstances, and I hope that it doesn't take something like a world war to inject soul back into society. The second speech I saw was Bono's acceptance of an award from the NAACP. The speech was fair, but it was incredibly moving compared to most things we hear these days. And it wasn't forced; it was truly felt. You can toss around all of the terrible stats concerning disease in Africa that you want, but they won't get as much attention as something said with soul. I don't mean angry shouting which only annoys most people. I mean, the soul of a preacher--an approach that inspires people. (And this is exactly what Bono did.)
Most Americans, if not most people in the so-called 'Western-world' are drugged by consumerism; we are kept preoccupied with buying things. A depressed individual is inclined to seek comfort in buying material items. Feeling blue? Just go to Walmart and buy yourself a shirt and a couple of new CDs! Well, no: Just as doing so doesn't cure an individual's depression, it also does not cure a society's listlessness. And that is what we are, listless. We need a strong new dose of spirituality, another Great Awakening. I don't mean any specific religion, denomination, or philosophy, but a wider sentiment of spiritual motivation, just as we saw in the previous Great Awakenings. Participants can range from devout believers whose faith you will never shake to outright atheists. What matters is that the new discourse needs to a be a shared, positive spirituality, focusing on hope, progress, solutions, and action, and not a reactionary, backward-looking, exclusionary movement, which, unfortunately, is what marks the mainstream right now.
We need to add soul to our logic.
Soul and brain must wed. And the message must not only be one of disgust, anger, and sadness, but also one of one of hope, inspiration, and love. Love of life, love of Earth, love of humanity. These words must be understood and not tossed off as "hippie fluff." They hold meaning. Disgust, anger, and sadness. Hope, inspiration, and love. There's a tension that comes from this mix, and that is soul itself. It's energizing, and that's something that we need."
All are welcome to discuss below or to continue conversation at cloudstrider.com, here, here and/or here.