"The battle under way ....is a battle between two groups intoxicated with the utopian and magical belief that humankind can master its destiny. This is one of the most pervasive forms of self-delusion,... but it has disastrous consequences. It encourage us to ignore reality." (page 10)
What reality is that you ask? We cannot free ourselves "...from the limitations of human nature and..." we cannot "...perfect the human species." Which leads us "...to think we are the culmination of a process, the result of centuries of human advancement, rather than creatures unable to escape from the irrevocable follies and blunders of human nature. The idea of inevitable progress allows us to place ourselves at the center of creation, to exalt ourselves... It permits us to avert our eyes from reality..." (pages 12-13)
My man, see previous blogposts, Nassim Nicholas Taleb ("The Black Swan") would assert these illusions do not account for Black Swans propelling history. M. Scott Peck ("The People of the Lie") would assert these illusions do not factor in evil and Hedges a bit further says "..we have much to fear from those who do not believe in sin. The concept of sin is a stark acknowledgment that we can never be omnipotent, that we are bound and limited by human flaws and self-interest. The concept of sin is a check on the utopian dreams of a perfect world." And furthermore Hedges asserts, "To turn away from God is harmless. Saints have been trying to do it for centuries. To turn away from sin is catastrophic. Religious fundamentalists, who believe they know and can carry out the will of God, disregard their sever human limitations. They act as if they are free from sin. The secular utopians of the 21st century have also forgotten they are human. These two groups peddle absolutes. Those who do not see as they see, speak as they speak and act as they act are worthy only of conversion or eradication." (pages 13-14)
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