The New Religion:
***Amendment (01/02/2010):
I originally wrote the following piece in the Spring of 2006. I have since experienced much, and my understanding
of religion has developed a great deal. When I wrote this, I had a much more close-minded view of religion. I
displayed a narrow, judgemental view that, ironically, was one of my chief condemnations of religion. That said, I
will not erase what I wrote; I don't believe in redressing the past. I always want to be improving my understanding
of any subject matter. I will never have an unflawed understanding of anything and there will always be room for
improvement and a greater appreciation of various perspectives.
I don't entirely disagree with what I wrote below, but I do feel I was malicious and disrespectful in my expression.
Over the last year I have found sobriety, and have become quite spiritual. I have also benefited from the
communal support of AA, which while not a religion, is a program that has a strong spiritual aspect. It is about self-
betterment. It is about doing the next right thing. It is about getting out of your own head and instead focusing on
helping others. These are all amazing things that deserve a greater respect than I had previously afforded
religion.
So read below with a grain of salt.
By the way, I am not yet at a point where I will rescind my attack on television, though I must admit that I have the
old "boob-tube" flipped on as I write this. What can I say, it gives me a sense of comfort having all the pretty
colors and sounds in the background.
* * * * * * * *
It is my belief that religion, though not in its originally intended purpose, has been used throughout history as a
tool of the powerful. It has been highly effective at getting people to conform and to promote ignorance
throughout the masses. Before the days of mass communication and transportation, it was far more difficult to
enforce a standard law of the land than it is today. But even today, force is not fully capable of controlling the
masses on its own. To truly control a man, you must control his mind and spirit. Religion made it so people were
always being watched by God thus had to exert self-regulation. It was also a wonderful way of getting the general
population to accept their meager lifestyles, as well as the abuse and inequality imposed on them by the
powerful. For many, the make believe promise of an afterlife was more than enough to accept a humble living
here on earth. I do acknowledge that religion was an extremely effective way to unite people and provide order,
and to accomplish great things that would not otherwise have been possible, but all along the way it was, and still
is, exploited by the few at the expense of the many.
Today, though religion is still a major force, there are many that do not conform to any specific religion. I believe
that with the advent of modern technology, religion is no longer the best tool to be used in the control of the
masses. There is obviously much more surveillance, so less need for an all-seeing God. I do think that in the US,
there are still many poor religious people who are held in the palm of a powerful hand as they continue to vote for
and support politicians and policies that act against their interests, but more importantly, I believe a new religion
has usurped the formal religions of the past, and it holds congregation at any time one is available for worship.
This new religion: television.
The average American household has the television on for seven hours a day (in my prime I could put that figure
to shame). Television is controlled by a powerful few, who control to a great extent what gets viewed by the
public. As you might imagine, much of what they allow to be viewed reflects their own self-interest, which is very
different than that of the average American. Television is the centerpiece of American culture, and it is a passive
medium that doesn’t require much, if any, thought on the part of the viewer. You can just zone out and absorb it.
Television has numbed the minds of the masses, much as religion has done in the past (they both deter
significant thought or logic), with the major difference being that television is far more malleable. It can be easily
molded to whatever the issue of the day is concerning the powerful men who pull the levers. It not only numbs the
mind, but it also successfully shifts the population towards thinking and caring about things that are superficial
and lack substance. Add that to an extremely filtered and biased news, and what results is a highly corralable
population that can be pushed, pulled and manipulated in whatever way will benefit the powerful.
In steps propaganda. Concepts are continuously pounded into susceptible minds until eventually certain
information that may not make any sense at all, is generally regarded as fact. And the idea that the media is
liberal is laughable. It is a business, and businesses naturally reflect the interests of their owners. I think the term
‘liberal media’ is simply a veil to disguise the truth about what the media really is- big business. And big business
will always have an agenda that they will push whenever possible. They’ve got money to make and shareholders
to please. Major corporations have us right where they want us, and while they’re busy looting the world with our
passive support, we sit back thinking about zit cream and pop music and how nice everything will be once we’ve
gotten rid of all those darned terrorists.