advertisement

chiefukhun@cox.net USA

ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE TO YOUR FRIENDS

THE AGE OF OBSCURANTISM

t the dawn of the 21st century, all of us, whether we knew it or not, woke up to the realization that we had entered the age of obscurantism. The classical definition of obscurantism, according to my American Heritage Dictionary is: "The principle or practice of obscurants; opposition to diffusion of enlightenment." Therefore, the word: "obscurant" refers to a person "who opposes intellectual advancement and political reform; an enemy of rationalism", "An enemy of Enlightenment in the 18th century."

We did not only wake up to obscurantism, we also woke up to fundamentalism in religion and politics. The word fundamental is an adjective to describe: "foundation" "elemental", "basic", "major", "central" and "key". Therefore, a fundamentalist is a person who holds to the basic tenets of his or her religion or politics, or organization. For example, a Christian fundamentalist would believe in the Bible as an historical account, "the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, Christ's second advent, and Armageddon." In politics, nationalism and cultural war form the basis of fundamentalism among some people. It is not whether or not we are fundamentalists or obscurants that causes tension among people, for it is human freedom to be or not to be a fundamentalist or an obscurants, but the application of such basic principles to terrorize others who may not subscribe to our way of looking at the world that generates conflict among people. Fundamentalism and obscurantism that take a flight from adhering to their basic tenets into de facto fanaticism are the most dangerous delusion and aberration of the human mind. Fundamentalists and Obscurants who take this fanatical flight need to be resisted and feared at the same time, because they are a hindrance to world peace, progress, and the advancement of constructive thought processes.

Can anyone imagine a world in which we do not have the right to think out loud for fear of obscurants and fundamentalists on the fanatical side? Can you imagine a world in which from the day one is born, one has no right to be a Muslim or a Christian, or an Agnostic? Worse still, can anyone imagine a world in which we have no freedom to change from one religion to another based on a deep-seated conviction and the rational thinking of an individual? People do not change from say, Christianity to Islam or vice versa easily. It is a difficult decision for those who have chosen to abandone their long-held faith for another. Each person's journey in life brings him or her to a point in which rational thinking, matters of the inner soul, and the world beyond, convince him or her to move in a certain direction. Religious or political thought forced upon the individual is neither cleansing nor real. Rational thinkers would gyrate toward a religion that meets their spiritual quest for meaning. To deny anyone that freedom to choose is contrary to the principle of existence. In the market of ideas and worldviews, we ought not be forced to buy food ingredients to prepare a dish we do not intend to ever cook, for if forced to do so, we will only be cooking someone else's food we do not intend to eat.

advertisement

The ideas being expressed here are in line with the principle of casting a ballot on an election day. The freedom to vote or not to vote belongs to the rational thinking individual. The freedom to choose a particular candidate is the individual's unalienable right. It is the individual's freedom to choose to be a Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, or Anglican. There are things we cannot choose in life: whether or not we come into existence or die. We can neither control nor determine these factors of life.

Knowing all these, I am apt to ask these questions: "Why do we kill one another or hate one another because others do not believe the way we do? Is it pride or stupidity or both that drives us to such a low level of being? We do the very things contrary to the teachings in the Holy Scriptures that we uphold in the name of God whom we say we serve. Hatred is abhorred in all the major Scriptures of the world, yet we hate passionately; to kill is detested by the Scriptures, yet we kill one another. It is against all religions to debase a human being on any grounds, yet we stigmatize and caricature people, insult and abuse them, deceive and misuse people, we lie in order to gain advantage, and above all, we live a life that is diametrically opposed to our fundamental beliefs. We cheat to get elected and hate those who, in the exercise of their democratic freedom, choose leaders we do not like. How can we say that we love God but hate our fellow human beings, or how can we say that we love democracy, but hate those that do not understand democracy our way?

What is wrong with women, except that they are women? Why do we say everyone is equal before God, yet religious and political systems subjugate women to second-class citizens? We see various forms of this: women cannot do this or that, they cannot be officers in the House of God, they are to stand at the back while men pray, and in their fake piety, approach the throne of grace on behalf of women. Women cannot drive cars in certain regions of the world because they are women, they cannot ride on a motorcycle because they are women, and women must cover their whole bodies looking like evil witches in their ridiculous outfits as a sign of piety and purity. In some cultures, women are not allowed to go to school, for their only destiny is to marry men who would, under the guise of marriage subject them to a life of slavery and mental torture. Some women undergo the most humiliating experience in the process of marriage. Women must be virgins before they marry. To prove that, such women would have to disrobe in plane view of selected wise elders and religious leaders (in closed-doors, of course) and someone would inspect their most sacred private area for the propers signs of virginity. If a virgin, everyone dances and feasts, and the parents are proud. If the girl is found not to be a virgin, the wrath of the establishment is brought to bear upon the girl and the family.

I advocate not a life without boundaries or moral compass, instead I am professing that fundamentalism and obscurantism without limits is dangerous to all. For example, the freedom to bear arms is not freedom to murder others, and the freedom to like one form of religion or political system is not freedom to denounce another unlike our own. Where we find ourselves to be citizens can greatly influence the path we choose in life, and if in the course of our earthly journey we come to a different understanding of life and choose to pursue it, that decision must be respected, for it is the individual's freedom to embark on a life that makes him or her whole within the context of internal and external dynamics. Fundamentalism and obscurantism is a danger to peace and the pursuit of justice and liberty.