Light, Change, and Progress

How brain works

May Day in Tel Aviv, 1947, color by Olga @ klimbim

How? What’s with the mitzvah tank? After millions have perished. After mullions of Jews have died the most cruel death possible? After the unimaginable abuse of power. It’s not the adherence to the abstract religion of communism that they profess but the belief in very concrete symbols. As the icons on the mitzva tank signify. They believe that the world revolution will finally reach Israel. And the leader who will bring the liberation to the long-suffering folk is Joseph Stalin.

And what about the American elite? How could the cultured members of society? Most of them Jews. And all it takes is to have a belief bordering religion, let’s call it real a religion then. Let’s imagine you lost your original religion but can’t really live without it. A man needs to believe in something. Let’s imagine you are emotionally invested.

Then it should be easy to say that the scarce and weak signals coming from the other side are denied without effort. The signals muzzled by propaganda. That’s before Solzhenizin, but even after. In fact, you being invested in the creed makes deniability seems natural. You even seem to enjoy it. This denial of facts that contradict your views is fundamental to your adherence to any ideology. The brain will defend itself against all newcomers. The price of new religion might be too high. We are naturally predisposed to defend our current state.

Let’s say you experienced a real injustice and were told that it doesn’t have to be that way. That just life is possible. Someone told you that moshiyah is at the gates, and your heart overcomes with gladness at the thought of a better tomorrow. You now believe in change! You now believe in progress!

Let’s kick it up a notch, let’s say you are financially involved in the myth. And you are perpetuating the myth carries a heavy burden. Let’s say you retreat to the last refuge saying that it’s not the “real communism”.

You are going to protect the dream at all costs. Even at the cost of the truth.

Christianity has entered the bloodstream of our faith. And after so many years together the Jews have succumbed to dominant tradition. Anyone who knows how ideas work would expect that. A different on outside only, or is the other way around?

In fact, today a shliyach who does his “light” duty in front of an elected official might cast a familiar role. That Rabbi worshipers dead person just like us. Not only that, but Hanukkah owes its prominence to the adjacent holiday. The very beliefs of the Rabbi might seem familiar. After all, what Rabbi believes in when the push comes to shove. Does he believe in military upraising? God forbid. Does he believe in overthrowing the government? Don’t say. He believes in light, he believes in change, he believes in progress.

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