By William Corden
It’s worth commenting on Larry McCloskey’s recent essay in this month’s issue as he came very close to putting his finger right on the button of today’s culture
Religion and the afterlife have been brushed aside in Western Society and in Western Government, replaced by the pursuit of possessions.
If you could sum up the current philosophy of the Western World it would be that life has no more meaning than
what you acquire while you’re living it.
what you acquire while you’re living it.The movie industry thrives on this culture and inculcates not only our youth but the adult population through constant bombardment.
This is overlaid by advertising in every possible corner of life. You can’t escape it because it’s there from the moment you turn on the internet, you tube or any other media platform… and it’s all; get more, live longer, be pretty and stay skinny with no effort required. Don’t worry about the afterlife, you’re gonna live forever.
Religion and ethical standards are hard to hold onto in these times because they require introspection and belief in some greater being. (I’m not religious myself, but I often catch myself saying ” All this can’t have happened by accident, it’s too intricate and complex!”)
As absent as they are in the West, I was struck by how much they are embedded in the day to day lives of the far eastern countries I visited recently.
All along the west coast of India the predominant message is that we live at the pleasure of the multitude of Gods they worship and so it’s a good idea to follow the rules for any particular spirit we might need help from. There’s temples at every corner like banks used to be over here.
Despite the abject poverty, most people that I encountered were friendly, humble and at peace with their fate in the belief that the next life would be a step up.
Same peaceful nature of acceptance all along the Thai/Malay peninsula, temples everywhere and temples that were filled with devotees no matter what day of the week or what the hour of the day.
Even in China where there is no God according to communism, there is a very strong undercurrent of religious life and the people truly believe that there is heaven after this one if you live a respectful life.
In the West it’s one and done, so why not take as much as you can and more, exacerbated by the state allowing unfettered freedom without any standards or personal responsibility
It all began with the separation of church and state which was thought to be the ultimate liberating policy.
Turns out that under this policy we have nothing to aim for in any afterlife and so we go on like the tail of a kite. No purpose and no direction.
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2 Responses
Correction: “All along the west coast of India the predominant message is that we live at the pleasure of the multitude of Gods they worship…”
Not so. Only One… Better to view it as not-two (Advaita), which is actually the absence of dualism with respect to “God”.
All these so-called “Gods they worship” are merely manifestations of that One.
I bow to your greater knowledge😊
Although my Hindu friends certainly pray to specific Gods, I didn’t realize that they are just praying to the same force through different channels.