"making an impact through my work and activism....I experience this phenomenon as a combination of moral imperative and psychological compulsion. Sometimes I wish I didn’t give a shit as much; it often hurts...But I am never happy if I’m not at least somewhat involved in what my tradition calls tikkun olam, repair of the world." I feel you.
Great article - thank you, Jay! Appreciate the analysis of whether politics is truly a dumb form of religion and also love your list of Alternatives to Shallowness, many of which I relate to, including the commitment to tikkun olam (which I also recently wrote about :)) I see each item in the list as a different mechanism for self-transcendence, which is so important because, in my humble opinion :), much of the shallowness of modern life stems from the fact we, as individuals and a culture, are very self-focused.
Not to split hairs, but I don't understand why glow-in-the-dark is used as a symbol of desecration. Whenever I make an especially sacred letterpress piece I compulsively add glow-in-the-dark ink to it so the thing will glow faintly when the lights go out.
By the way, letterpress printing sacred images is one of my core meaning-generating activities. The other is sacred reading and study. I have no choice but to be Jewish.
I think it also says a lot about who you are, whether politics is a “stupid game/religion” that you can mostly view as a past time like football, where it can be fun to watch, but the outcome has no meaningful consequences for your life… ie, white socially and financially privileged, & likely “Christian.”
For many people, “politics” is fundamental to whether you’re going to have bodily autonomy, civil and human rights, or be relegated back to a second /third class citizen, or whether you’ll even be allowed to exist in this country going forward.
It’s the thing most infuriating about pundits like Ezra Klein, who love the sound of their own voice, & can sit down with Nazis and have a polite conversation, secure in the belief that if shit really goes THAT sideways he will just go somewhere else and make his trade.
You can view politics as a hobby, or a “dumb” religion, but for many people it’s not. It’s quite a luxury to be able to exist in this country with the view, either real or imagined, that politics doesn’t affect you.
Totally agree. In fairness to Sean Illing, I don't think he was saying that politics is *only* a substitute for religion -- and he never says it's a game, he understands the stakes are not like football. I think he's only saying that political discourse can be a dumb form of "religion" in the sense of organizing principle for people's lives.
But I agree with you -- even that framing suggests there's a choice when for many people there isn't. For a lot of us (queers like me included, but obvs many others have far more at stake than I do) it's not really a choice, like, do I make politics a big part of my life or, IDK, take up knitting. My trans friends don't have that choice, immigrants don't have that choice - the state shoves politics in their faces by taking away their freedom or healthcare or even their lives.
"making an impact through my work and activism....I experience this phenomenon as a combination of moral imperative and psychological compulsion. Sometimes I wish I didn’t give a shit as much; it often hurts...But I am never happy if I’m not at least somewhat involved in what my tradition calls tikkun olam, repair of the world." I feel you.
Great article - thank you, Jay! Appreciate the analysis of whether politics is truly a dumb form of religion and also love your list of Alternatives to Shallowness, many of which I relate to, including the commitment to tikkun olam (which I also recently wrote about :)) I see each item in the list as a different mechanism for self-transcendence, which is so important because, in my humble opinion :), much of the shallowness of modern life stems from the fact we, as individuals and a culture, are very self-focused.
i'm finding direction for a way forward here, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/812086/ecocivilization-by-jeremy-lent/
Not to split hairs, but I don't understand why glow-in-the-dark is used as a symbol of desecration. Whenever I make an especially sacred letterpress piece I compulsively add glow-in-the-dark ink to it so the thing will glow faintly when the lights go out.
By the way, letterpress printing sacred images is one of my core meaning-generating activities. The other is sacred reading and study. I have no choice but to be Jewish.
I think it also says a lot about who you are, whether politics is a “stupid game/religion” that you can mostly view as a past time like football, where it can be fun to watch, but the outcome has no meaningful consequences for your life… ie, white socially and financially privileged, & likely “Christian.”
For many people, “politics” is fundamental to whether you’re going to have bodily autonomy, civil and human rights, or be relegated back to a second /third class citizen, or whether you’ll even be allowed to exist in this country going forward.
It’s the thing most infuriating about pundits like Ezra Klein, who love the sound of their own voice, & can sit down with Nazis and have a polite conversation, secure in the belief that if shit really goes THAT sideways he will just go somewhere else and make his trade.
You can view politics as a hobby, or a “dumb” religion, but for many people it’s not. It’s quite a luxury to be able to exist in this country with the view, either real or imagined, that politics doesn’t affect you.
Totally agree. In fairness to Sean Illing, I don't think he was saying that politics is *only* a substitute for religion -- and he never says it's a game, he understands the stakes are not like football. I think he's only saying that political discourse can be a dumb form of "religion" in the sense of organizing principle for people's lives.
But I agree with you -- even that framing suggests there's a choice when for many people there isn't. For a lot of us (queers like me included, but obvs many others have far more at stake than I do) it's not really a choice, like, do I make politics a big part of my life or, IDK, take up knitting. My trans friends don't have that choice, immigrants don't have that choice - the state shoves politics in their faces by taking away their freedom or healthcare or even their lives.
I find your analysis very compelling and I agree that it has been ever thus. Perspective is hard to find these days.
Thanks Don!