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It's ironic that 'dogma' simply once meant belief: something we hope is true but aren't certain of, as opposed to a fact. Now dogma means doctrine, something taken as fact and NOT to be disputed. Unfortunately this mindset has damaged religion, especially the monotheistic faiths, turning off millions seeking profound meaning in their lives. It is doubly sad as all the great religions have mystery at their core, as expressed in the Torah, The Gospels, the Koran. Faith was never meant to be confused with knowledge: it is both less AND more. [If you're not sure you understand that last sentence fully--well, then you're been touched by mystery.] But dogmatic thinking (an oxymoron?) is not limited to religions. In our secular, reductionist (taking everything down to its lowest common denominator) age, dogma is actually more wide-spread in atheistic 'religions'. Since 1917 its biggest example has been communism (capitalism bad, socialism good) and even though communism has been a disaster everywhere it has been tried, it still has its die-hard proponents, some of whom are prevalent in political parties in the West to this day. That's the problem with dogmatic thinkers-- there's no reasoning with them (another oxymoron?). They breathe irrationality, intolerance, and can do a great deal of harm, to body, mind, and soul. So why do so many crave certainty over belief? God knows--I don't. Personally I find the mysteries of life enthralling: Why is he my friend? Why does she love me, and (an even greater mystery) why has she put up with me for 40+ years? Why did I write this essay, or that poem last week, or anything? And what haven't I written what I might have? Why did I not die at 24 as I was drowning in a swift spring-swollen Vermont River? Why can't I recall most of the thousands of dreams I have dreamt, each one its own little life? Why does God hide-or more to the point, why is it so hard for most of us most of the time to 'see' Him? And perhaps the biggest mystery of all: why is it so hard to see ourselves? Today in America we are riven by angst, not caused by external forces like invading armies or storm-troopers come to roust us out of our beds. We are doing it to ourselves with identity politics, a myriad of 'causes', a mean-tempered belittling of the 'other'-- in short, hatred. We live in the richest, most powerful, and freest country the world has ever seen, and we are taking it apart, little by little, piece by piece-- and nobody seems to know why.
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