To Know, or Not To Know – That is the Question

I was recently asked – in all seriousness – to suppose that the premise of the movie, “The Matrix” was real. To believe that all of the reality around me was simply an elaborate computer program and that I was the equivalent of a battery plugged into a giant power source being fed and nurtured in pink goo, and having my life experiences fed to me by a cable screwed into the back of my head. With all of that having been established, the question was asked, “would you want to know the truth and be freed from the system, or would you rather continue in the fantasy?”

I half-expected the person who asked me this question to offer me a choice between the blue pill and the red one – but they were completely serious – and asked that I take this seriously, so I will. Knowing, as I do, the back-end motivation of this question, as well as the opinions of the person asking it, I am finding that I must temper my thinking and answer only the question as it is posed, rather than as the potential “open door” for efforts to convince me or recruit me to their way of thinking. Taking the question on its own merits however, it poses a very real dilemma – which the movie was intended to do – and which I suppose all of us should answer honestly, if we’re to view our world and society objectively. So I’ll venture.

Life is hard enough without having to always stare its ugliness in the eye day after day. The denial of this ugliness is basic mechanism of our survival as humans. I think that we can only take so much “reality” before we begin to be worn down by it all and slip into depression and even self-destructive behavior. The mechanism of “hope” is not only one of self-preservation, but it is also a key to finding happiness and peace. But, because life is a study in contrasts, you cannot have a world devoid of ugliness any more than you can have one without its moments of levity and joy.  If you’ll recall, in the movie the aliens needed to rethink their program and recreate it with trials, tribulations, and difficulty. Both elements are absolutely necessary for us to thrive.  But to entertain the idea that all of life’s joys and sorrows are contrived, and that there is some kind of reality beneath or behind it all which is “grittier” or somehow more “real”, and that it has all been “pulled over our eyes” is depressing.

The nature of the question negates the ability to really answer the question definitively. If you know that what you are seeing is not real, then of course you’re going to be curious about what your reality is. No matter now wonderful the illusion is, it’s still an illusion, and no one wants to live in a lie. But because you would have to gauge the difference between the two extremes, you would, by default, know which of the two choices was preferable to you and naturally gravitate towards that. Humans are basically self-seeking, and will typically seek out and pursue that which will make their lives easier and more fulfilling. Some people thrive on chaos. Others must live a “Polly Anna” existence to find satisfaction in life. Even in the current illusory world, if that is in fact what we’re living in, they will ignore the strife, contention, and ugliness as much as possible – sticking their heads in the proverbial sand, and always looking for the rainbows in life. Those who thrive on chaos are always seeing the negative in life and accept it as the only real alternative. They are typically pessimistic, un-trusting, and jaded to the extreme. They see conspiracies behind every event in life, and are often critical of anyone who is not open-minded enough or intelligent enough to see the reality staring them in the face.

Because of this – because there are always at least two options in life – I think the best way to answer the question of knowing or not, it to simply say it depends. The whole premise of the movie breaks down with knowledge. Once a person knows that the life they are living is an illusion, they are compelled, as all of us would be, to find out what the reality is. And, while it’s true that there will always be some people who seek an escape to their current reality, most of us deal with what comes our way, good or bad. The fact that the “reality program” is too much for some people is patently evident in the levels of drug and alcohol abuse in our society. People are seeking a way to escape the reality they are in. If you were a person who was prone to this kind of behavior already, I would suggest that you would want to avoid knowing the grim reality that the world had been pulled over your eyes because if you can’t deal with the “balance” as it is, you certainly won’t be able to deal with the depressing truth of a world gone mad. 

If, on the other hand, you’re the type of person that thrives on chaos, loves the grit and dirt, sees the glass as perpetually half-empty, then by all means, take the red pill and enjoy the ride. If the only way you can deal with reality is by ripping apart the façade and staring into the abyss, then you would naturally act on your knowledge. But again, regardless of your preference in life, you would be compelled to look reality in the face. You may want to close the door, shut your eyes, or bury your head again after catching a glimpse of that reality, but you would HAVE to know. 

This is why the act of asking that question breaks down the ability to answer it.  You would have to know, but how you chose to react to that knowledge will vary with everyone. To answer the question then, I would be compelled to see for myself the difference, but I would emphatically reserve the right to react to reality in a way that would preserve my ability to live a productive and useful life.

 

Are there forces at play in our world that are secret, malevolent, and dark? Absolutely. Conversely, there are also forces for good which counter the ugliness every single day. Choosing which one you focus on is what’s really at the heart of this question. I think it’s important however, to explain that just because your focus is on the positive, doesn’t mean that you cannot be doing something about the negative. We all have the ability to choose our reactions to life and the curveballs it can throw at us.  I also think that you have to choose your battles, and recognize your limitations – we can’t all go tilting after windmills and taking on every cause that it anathema to our happiness. It’s about balance. Taking the good with the bad, and adjusting accordingly. It all really comes down to you. Can you, as one human being make a difference each day in spite of the ugliness and gritty reality around you? Can you touch one person for good? Can you make one event easier for someone? Can you accept that there are always going to be things that you can’t change which are ugly and distressing, and regardless of that, put a smile on your face and focus on the positive?

Knowing or not knowing is a great topic for healthy debate. But simply knowing that the reality we face every day is going to have light and dark, joy and suffering, truth and deceit, and peace and pain is enough for me. It’s enough for me to know that I get to choose how I’m going to react to this world in all of its gritty splendor, and to accept that there are going to be things that I can’t change, or that will act upon my happiness. Regardless of whether my reality is determined by a few million lines of programming code, or by the dark and dismal reality of a world gone mad, I still get to choose how I’ll treat others and how I’ll react to what is before me – which fantasy or not, is still the defining characteristic that makes me human.

Is it really the Libyans and Egyptians, or Religion that's to blame?

“Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.” – Denis Diderot

“The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion.” -- Diderot

In light of the recent attacks on the embassy and consular staffs in Cairo and Benghazi, the truth of these statements is made loud and clear. While it would be wrong to blame Islam for the actions of it’s adherents, it is completely accurate to blame the clerics and religious leaders – as well as some heads of state – for the rabid anti-American fanaticism which has infected much of the Muslim world. The firebrand interpretations of the Quran and the ignorant trend of blaming the west for all the woes of Islam are the tools of the dangerous madmen Diderot warned about in the 18th century.

Sam Bacile, reported to be an Israeli-born American citizen, practiced his right to freedom of expression and speech in writing, producing and directing the two hour movie in which Mohammed, the revered prophet of Islam, is depicted as a fraud, a womanizer and a madman. While Bacile has gone into hiding to avoid reprisals, the clerics and leaders of the Muslim world have used this opportunity to whip it’s followers into a rabid hate-fueled frenzy that has culminated in the death of 4 American citizens in Benghazi. Instead of directing their wrath at the perpetrator of the insult, they have seized upon this incident to further their religious and fanatical attacks against the west. That having been said, Mr. Bacile may have had the right to produce his hate-filled movie, but having the right to do something doesn’t necessarily make your actions or behaviors “right.” By carelessly exercising his freedoms, Bacile has provided a few psychotic and delusional clerics and leaders of Islam an excuse to incite their followers into attacks on citizens of a sovereign nation – citizens who were as innocent of offense as the occupants of the World Trade Centers and Pentagon were on the morning of 9/11.

Extreme fundamentalism has led to innumerable human atrocities committed in the name of Allah, Mohammed, Jesus, Mary, Jehovah, Vishnu, Buddha or Joseph. Throughout history, every religious movement has committed heinous acts of violence against those whom have been deemed heretics or heathens. Whether we’re talking about the Jewish conquests in Canaan,  the Crusades, the Huguenot purges, the Spanish Inquisition, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the Holocaust, the ethnic cleansings in Serbia, the 9/11 attacks, or this latest series of attacks in Libya and Egypt, one common thread runs through them all: the crimes have all been committed by people who have been duped into believing that their particular brand of social delusion is superior to another’s preferred mass hysteria.

Every religion seems to claim that their god is a “god of love,” and yet, as Blaise Pascal said, “men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” It seems to me that it isn’t so much an issue of god or gods, as an issue of religion and the madness it inspires in people who allow others to do their thinking for them.

Before we, as Americans, get all indignant towards Muslims, we should carefully consider our own beliefs and the unethical and questionable behaviors which have been carried out by the practitioners and followers of our many religions, and ask ourselves if we are really different? All religious movements are guilty of the same types of crimes – every last one of them. These recent attacks were wrong, and as a sovereign nation, we should respond decisively to them. The radicalized Muslims who committed these crimes should be hunted down and brought to justice – and so should every religious practitioner and cleric – of whatever stripe – who uses religion to inspire violence and intolerance towards another human being.

Religion is pabulum for a weak mind. Instead of asking yourself, “What Would Jesus Do?” or Jehovah, or Allah, or (*insert your favorite god here), perhaps the question all of us should be asking is this: “Is this how I should be treating another human being?” Until we, as a society, can successfully eliminate religion – not FAITH, but religion – we’ll never see the kind of world or society religion deceptively promises.