Prim and Proper

Due to recent Christmas gatherings, I have been involved in many conversations amongst sheep and did notice some strange patterns while discussing certain topics such as politics, medicine, global antics, and general social curiosities. I am not sure if I will be able to convey what I observed in my writing here, but I will give it a try.

This current opus is related to another article I recently penned, which is set to come out later in January (2024). It is titled Things We are Not Allowed to Believe. As you read both articles you will see the connection. I will try not to be too repetitive.

To put this as simply as I can, I would say that it seems there is a template that the world, and all of the happenings within it, are supposed to fit neatly, and properly, into. And anything that does not fit into the template, is discarded like the chaff is from the wheat, or the fat is from a cut of meat. When this “non-fitting” part is cut out, it is cast away with disgust, hatred, and revulsion.

What does this template look like? And what fits neatly in it, and what doesn’t?

The template has changed over the years. It has at times been more rigid in certain ways, and less rigid in others. The casting off of undesirables has in the past been less egregious. I suppose I could say that in the past the template was more organic, and more than likely formed by the culture itself, with a little coercion from religious mores and values. Needless to say, most of Europe’s and North America’s template was largely formed by Christian fundamentals. Europe’s penchant for technological advancement, that also was a foundational tenet of North America, similarly helped structure this template—largely in hygiene (plumbing!) and medicine (influential medical technology). I leave out all other technological advancements because I am not sure if they are part of the template I am trying to describe here, but I am sure all progressive enhancements are significant in the formulation of what we consider “normal.” I know this is getting a bit wiggy and complex, bear with me.

So, today we have a societal template. Basically a set of cultural boundaries where everything “within” these boundaries is considered “ok” and everything outside of them is considered “bad.” Since the template is now manufactured largely by the agenda, it really doesn’t have to make much sense. In the past, the template generally was formed organically, and although the church more than likely created a similar “do not discuss this” list, most of the boundaries set by the church were ethically based (although the church was more directly manipulative than even what we have pushing us around today—but did not have the blatantly evil, genocidal, agenda—at least not most of the time).

The reason why this template is important is because so much conversation is rejected if it falls outside of the acceptable lines. I recall a time, for example, where strange ideas, strange issues, strange science, etc. was looked upon as mysterious, intriguing, and often embraced in this manner as topics of interest. Not everyone was open to these “out of line” ideas and observations, but if there was some evidence, some expertise of some form behind it , these ideas were not denigrated and thrown into the waste bin of conspiracy theories and nut job concoctions.

If anyone reads my work, they know this is a common theme in my writing. What I am talking about in this article is more specific and more nuanced. It largely centers on the effects of conversation with what would typically be decent, intelligent, people. With the bigger issues, it is very obvious. For example, no one within the majority mass of our society entertains any other theory for the advancement and variety of complex species other than Darwin’s. No one entertains theories regarding the shape of the planet Earth other than the theories that propose it is a round globe. No one within this majority seriously considers Béchamp’s Terrain Theory as a credible opposition to Pasteur’s Germ Theory. No one entertains Trump as a viable contender for President over a senile and demented Biden.

Although, again, there has always been a template, the current one doesn’t even allow consideration of these “off the beaten path” ideas. It rejects them immediately and entirely. As said earlier there was a time when “all things were considered” or at least discussed. How about a highly credentialed medical doctor “suggesting” (supported by scads of concrete evidence) that there is a viable treatment for Covid 19, or suggesting that the vaccines designed for said disease are not safe, nor effective? Are these people and their ideas considered? Contemplated? Discussed amongst other “experts” in the field? Nope. It doesn’t fit in the current template.

This, to me at least, is quite strange. It seems that any criteria that in the past allowed a topic to be discussed seriously amongst people, no longer exists for any topic that doesn’t fit into the current template. This phenomenon is quite serious as it squelches any sort of conversation that has any depth and meaning—who wants to sit around talking only about things everyone agrees on? It seems that it is the new measure of civility—everyone has to be the same, think the same, and agree on the same things.

Take the example above about Trump. The reason I am using this as an example is because it is clear that Biden’s mental and physical ailments are just as troubling as Trump’s negative attributes. Of course this is debatable, but we are not allowed to debate it. Trump has fallen into a class for those that play strictly within the boundaries of the template of “no discussion.” Yet he is the popular candidate for president. He simply is not discussed (amongst sheep). He has been discarded. You could discuss Biden alone if you liked, as long as you did not compare him with Trump. Then you are in territory outside of the acceptance of the template, and you will have people running out of the room with their fingers in their ears.

These people not only disagree with “anything Trump,” but any discussion of him actually makes them so agitated, so wrought with despair, discomfort, hate, and ugliness that he becomes a topic that cannot even be thought about. And Trump is only one topic that elicits this sort of insane response—vaccines, masks, doctors, immigration, trans people, homosexuals, blacks, the Chinese, the Middle East, Russians, Putin, Gaza, Israel, the Chinese government, on and on and on. And the person presenting any sort of “contrary” thought is not just wrong but is a complete, and utter, moron.

At some point over the mind boggling frustration of holiday conversations, I just mentioned that I thought maybe, just maybe, the reason dogs are suddenly prone to instant death if they nibble on an old grape they might find under the counter, is due to all of the vaccines they get when they are a puppy. It just seems odd to me that dogs have been around for thousands of years and grapes are now so toxic for them. Everyone in the room (all sheep) rolled their eyes in unison. Why is that such a weird idea? I shut up.

Of course, if everyone agrees on the topic at hand, it is fine. But if you have any opposing thoughts present in the room, forget it. There is a strange effort to stay in a neat, clean, prim, and proper, position.

Now, it is Christmas, and these conversations are amongst sheep who know I am a shrew. So maybe people are just trying to avoid deeper conflictual conversation. Or maybe this is due to some strangeness regarding the people I was in conversation with. Maybe they just don’t have the capacity to go into depth about much of anything. They certainly are not well-informed. I am, but they are not. (My conversations where I made my observations were amongst my friends and family, so maybe it is just me).

Oh well. Just another strange awareness of some strange things. I often feel like I am a human who has landed on an alien planet where the aliens look like humans but have slightly different mannerisms, reactions, and responses to things. I often shake my head wondering, after experiencing some strange comment or reaction, “Where did that come from?”  Of course, it could be me who is the alien. It is not really possible to tell.