The Power of Superstition

I really did not want to write about this burning of the Qur'an nonsense, but Sir Harry wanted my thoughts, and even my kids called up seeking my opinion. This startled -- they are so engrossed in their own life-plays that they are often only dimly aware of the crap and corruption that is such a large part of geopolitical life. Apparently not this time, so here goes.

The root principle at work here is that as you believe, so it is -- the seeming makes it so. There is ample evidence for this. At one time, most believed the world was flat, a not untoward observation dictated by common sense. (Mind you, Thales of Miletus predicted an eclipse, so at least someone was a wee bit ahead of his time.) Then came the belief (pace Galileo) that that earth was the centre of the universe, with the sun revolving around it. Then Newtonian physics, and now Einsteinian relativity, buttressed by Hawkings' "M" theory. As Kurt Vonnegut wrote, "so it goes".

And this is as it should be. As more evidence comes in, and better scientific instruments are perfected, the world view alters.

Not so with superstition.

To some, the world was created in seven days, because this is written down in the Bible. The Rock of Ages usurps the ages of rocks. A second book, the Qur'an, is held to be the literal word of God, and hence, unlike scientific exploration, cannot be altered in any way.

Now if all this were confined to temples, churches and mosques, all would be well. But it is not, and the tenets in these books seep out into society where they clash, not only with science, but with each other. And for followers to deviate...well, doubting Christians risked burning at a stake at one time, and in the present age, it is death to leave Islam.

Which brings us to Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who, along with his 30 odd followers, ignited a world-wide firestorm when he threatened to burn copies of the Qur'an because a mosque location was, in his (and God's) opinion, in the wrong place. This suggests three things.

The first is that burning books of any description is a Bad Idea. The reader here is directed towards Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451; Mr. Bradbury deals with this issue far more capably than I.

The second raises the question of why Pastor Jones is allowed in society at all. At one time, state and provincial governments ran mental institutions where the likes of Terry Jones could get the help they so obviously need. No longer -- politicians saw an opportunity to fund causes nearer to their hearts, and therefore enacted a policy of inclusion and social integration, sending all manner of mental delinquents on to the street. (In America, the NRA arms them.)

The third concerns Islam directly. Leaving aside the issue that jihadist thugs were delighted to use Pastor Jones' idiocy as propaganda suited to their purpose, the fact remains that Islam, even as a superstition with a long track record, exhibits incredible insecurity. That 30 mentally unbalanced people could produce the outrage that it did beggars belief.

But belief is what it's all about, as I mentioned when I began this missive. And until those beliefs change....

Yet there is a glimmer of hope, best put by H. L. Mencken: "Every time the scientists take another fort from the theologians and the politicians, there is genuine human progress."

Enough. Or too much.