Big political and religious organizations are usually driven and blinded by ideology. Intransigent ideology!
These organizations all prescribe horse blinkers for their followers. It is to prevent their flock from seeing anything to the rear and the sides. They should only catch sight of the carrot that the puppet master dangles in front of them.
If you are not with us, you are against us, is their motto. A prime example of this phenomenon is the recent demotion of congresswoman Liz Cheney within the GOP. Long a faithful Republican trooper, she had the audacity to break with the pack and vote to impeach Saint Trump. A mortal sin in the eyes of the “Big Lie” supporters. They demanded her head, and the GOP was quick to oblige.
“The big lie (German: große Lüge; often the big lie) is a propaganda technique used for political purposes, defined as “a gross distortion or misrepresentation of the facts, especially when used as a propaganda device by a politician or official body.”
As Goebbels and Hitler said, if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth, or at least it forces citizens to have some doubts about the truth.
“The ultimate end of any ideology is totalitarianism.” Tom Robbins
And this is the hidden and dangerous side of this doctrine. The ultimate goal of these organizations is the total subjugation of their flock. Nazism, communism, Islamism, early Christianism, conservatism, far-right groups, etc. all follow that scenario,
They want to impose their narrow views on all and rule by intimidation and fear. No dissent is authorized, and all are primed to worship their leader, their god. Like Il Duce, the leader cannot be wrong, even when what says feels rather outrageous. But you don’t question the Messiah!
In America (as well as many parts of the world) many individuals many families are blinded by ideology. They do so because they feel comfortable with what they hear, and they are surrounded by think-alike individuals. They are not loners… many people share their ideas…
Another dangerous ideology is the distrust and fear of vaccines. Vaccines have been successfully used for over a hundred years and have helped to cure or prevent scores of terrible diseases. But some people blinded by ideology and accepting outrageous lies, still believe that it does more harm than good.
Ideology does not fare well when compared with common sense, but alas “None so blind as those who will not see.”
When in doubt, forget the damn ideology… just use common sense!
Alain