Irony and The Mind of God

Confused and Fine with That

It has long been my desire to understand the complexities and apparent chaos of the world I see around me. This is impossible. One cannot use logic to explain the illogical. But we can try. This is the central paradox that envelops us all: a desire for a coherent understanding of what appears to defy reason, to obtain a degree of Objectivity. To do this, I offer a simple truism: “The extent to which something is true, the opposite is equally so.” (1) This ironic statement on further examination reveals to us the one truth we can always count on when faced with the confusion and hopelessness of our journey to understand things that happen in our lives; when taken to its extreme, this truism can actually reveal to us a basic understanding of everything, and a complete understanding of nothing. And by embracing the emptiness of understanding nothing, we can start to feel connected to The Mind Of God. (2)

Now I am not claiming to be a profit, or even remotely prophetic, I am just one semi-old guy asking questions that have followed me around my whole life and attempting to find some answers for myself. When I refer to “The Mind of God,” I am not referring to religion. I’m not really talking about God, but rather a higher truth that can only be seen when we step back from ourselves; and I am simply sharing these thoughts here in the weak hope that my journey through a life of confusion may provide a bit of clarity for someone else. How ironic. Which brings me to my first assertion: if we seek some objectivity, we must recognize that irony can be found everywhere -- that we live in a world of opposites, that something and its opposite can simultaneously be true. We must give up on the comfort of believing in the simple truth; it doesn’t exist. To understand the punch lines to this joke called life, we must first see that if something is absolutely true, it is at the same time, and to an equal degree, completely false.

The Irony of Labels

From the moment we are taught anything, we start to divide the world around us into “right” and “wrong.” These two camps are always at war, and peace can only be realized when what is “right” defeats what is “wrong.” Our entire moral consciousness is based on the trust that right will eventually win, that there is more goodness than evil, and that happiness is achievable. To think otherwise is to be antisocial at best, and sadistic at worst. This moral duality is central to our self-perception. We are taught to believe that, without this divide, we cannot function as individuals or as a society. If good and evil do not really exist, then why try? Why pass laws to protect the good and punish evil. If there is no ultimate goodness, no God spirit, then selfish, evil thoughts and actions are as valuable as good ones. Despite our efforts to empower the good and eliminate evil, peace will never come because we delude ourselves into thinking what is good for us is “good,” and everything else is not. People who attend church bolster this illusion, believing God is on their side. Ironically, even atheists see the value in doing good deeds, while history shows vast amounts of evil perpetrated in the name of God.

This overriding duality, good vs. evil, is in reality a trap. We are lured into this trap by thinking that our own opinions are right and good, and opposing viewpoints are wrong and less good—or more evil—when in reality, as in the case with God, life offers no absolutes. When I would tell my high school literature students, “The extent to which something is true, the opposite is equally so,” they would have a tough time; if this is true, then everything they have been taught to believe is in question. Exactly. That was my point. Everything is in question and needs re-examination. Nothing is true, or everything is—in equal amounts. Everything is subject to interpretation and all truths are based on opinion. Our opinions are usually what we would like to be true, good, or “right.” We want anyone who disagrees with us to be seen as false, bad, “wrong.” So, we are trapped in absolutes, characterizing our opponents as somehow deranged in their thinking, if not innately evil. But in reality, they are as right (and as wrong) as we are. This kind of reasoning blows young people away. They want absolute answers not paradoxical problems. “If you want answers,” I would tell them, “don’t go to school—go to church.” And to the same extent that I find this funny, they wouldn’t get it.

When I write that statement here, the one about truth and its opposite being equally true, or not, I am sure some of you may challenge its validity. Others may just smile and nod. For the sake of argument, let’s test this theorem. Our lives are a swirling mesh of opposites simultaneously attracting and repelling each other. When we speak in absolutes, the truth of this theorem becomes apparent. It is easy to see that when we say that something is completely one way or the other, neither position is entirely true. Let’s just say, “Guns are bad.” People who dislike guns will be as quick to agree with this as those who like guns will disagree. “Guns aren’t bad,” they will counter, “People are.” These positions are opposite and EQUALLY true and untrue simultaneously. Guns were created for the purpose of sending a metal projectile into the body of another living thing in order to cause harm or death. Some may say that the very act of firing a bullet has evil intent, while others point out that stopping evil with a bullet is actually a good thing. Our Nation, which so many of us love and admire from its formation, could not be formed without guns and bloodshed. Indeed, our bloodiest war was waged against ourselves for the protection of those enslaved by others. It would be difficult to find a more noble defense for the use of guns than to end slavery. This shows us that, the extent to which guns are bad, they are equally good. This is a very American paradox, because it is our problem alone it seems. It can be argued that we, as Americans, love our guns even more than we love our children because we spend far more political capital defending our right to own guns than we spend on efforts to protect school children from them.

This is just one example of how this truism can be applied. The underlying secret to productively using this theorem in everyday life is to avoid labeling things in absolute terms. Beware of anyone, politicians in particular, that apply a label to an opponent or an opposing argument. Trapping someone in a generalization is always an attempt to hide the whole truth. The more complex and detailed an expression of one’s truth, the more likely it is to resemble its opposite. And because both are equally true (and false) simultaneously, the less opposite they truly are, and the easier it is to see the validity of the other side. This broadened perspective is what makes compromise possible. Without an aversion to labels, social progress is impossible. This is the state we as Americans find ourselves in today, politically stuck. Nothing ever gets accomplished when we see the other side as absolutely wrong, bad, or (worse) evil. Just remember, when it comes to politics, “Two wrongs don’t make a right… they make Congress!”

Political Objectivity

The Mind of God, Mindfulness, Objectivity, whatever we want to call it, is really just being fair. Living justly and being fair is not easy. It's hard to remove ourselves and our biases from our view of the world, but by attempting to see both sides of everything and embracing the irony of the Universe, we can actually feel its frightening immensity. People don’t like to feel infinitesimal. That is why we make God into a friend or family member who will shelter us from the immensity of truth and allow us to dwell in a simplistic land of mythology. We pretend to be objective and fair so we don’t have to try to truly be.

Is it possible to be politically objective? These days it seems that there is no motivation to be so. Republicans appear to view compromise as treasonous to their ideals, while Democrats see compromise as possible so long as Republicans agree with them. Legislating in today’s political culture of absolutisms is virtually impossible. Even if members of opposing parties agree on an issue that the vast majority of Americans support, it has become political suicide to give the other side even a partial victory. Fear of the extreme segments of either party seeking revenge in a primary creates politicians incapable of objectivity and compromise. Literally hundreds of bills, many bipartisan, have been passed by the House and now sit languishing in the Senate because, if the Leader does bring them to a vote, he knows that it will put members of his caucus that are up for reelection in an impossible position. If they vote to approve a compromise, their extreme minded base will seek revenge in their primary election, and if they vote it down, they are sure to lose the general election because the bill has broad appeal. So, the answer is to do nothing while blaming the other side. We saw the exact same thing happen in the House whose leader was slow to move for the impeachment of an obviously criminal President because of the political damage it would cause to her majority when the partisan Senate failed to impeach him. The desire to do what’s right is always mitigated by fear of personal harm.

In today’s government, compromise and objectivity are quaint relics of the past. A Presidential veto, the last hurdle and check on compromise, is rarely considered because the only way to get a bill passed into law today is if a party holds the White House and control of both houses of Congress, and compromise is largely unnecessary. Even then, the constructs of our system makes it difficult to pass effective legislation because the founders wanted it to be hard. Only difficult things are good for us. The easy and expedient are always bad for us as individuals and as a society; good things only come by way of ardor.

Care to test that theory? OK, let’s…

The Dangers of Expediency

“If it feels good, do it.” Has there ever been a more seductive, self-destructive piece of advice? I say, “If it feels good, ask why.” The chances are, when something feels good, if it hasn’t been the result of a long, difficult process, it isn’t worth it. The damage that results from expediency far outweighs its immediate gratification from the resulting endorphins. Sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll were only good for the baby-boomers who survived them. I’m one, so I know of whom I speak. There is nothing wrong with any of these thrills when experienced selectively, but they are also all very addictive, and destructive when used together in the extreme. I’m sure the Grateful Dead concert I experienced in Santa Barbara would be among my best college memories if I could remember anything past (literally) drinking the Kool-Aid. As a species, we are drawn towards ecstasy. We can achieve this through years of disciplined practice in any number of endeavors, or we can just order something or someone on line. The first will enlighten and enrich your life; the second will destroy you. God’s ironic universe has never been so apparent as when it involves the things we “can’t live without.” How many of those that we idolize have been destroyed by the things we idolize them for. And how many friends have been lost similarly. God’s infinite, ironic presence can be seen in this love and loss. As Americans, our love affairs are killing us: social media, cell phones, and meat, for example. All are immediately available and immensely popular, but equal to their appeal, is their destructiveness.

Let’s discuss meat first. Americans love meat because it tastes great and is easy to get. Most of us wouldn’t eat meat if we had to butcher it ourselves. But because all the hard tasks of meat consumption are done for us, meat is virtually everywhere just waiting to be consumed. Just look how much supermarket counter space and main street real estate are dedicated to meat consumption. Meat is everywhere. It is as American as apple pie.—I’m not sure why this cliche is so popular, but you get my point. I probably should have said, “…as American as guns,” but that would have started a different debate, and I presume more Americans eat meat than own guns, but I’m not sure.— Anyway, we love meat and produce way more of it than any other country, and it is undeniably deadly to us, as individuals and as a species. Not only is meat a major contributing factor of illnesses that kill millions annually, experts tell us that there will be no end of the greenhouse effect destroying our planet without the end of the meat and dairy industries. We could all stop driving automobiles tomorrow and still not diminish enough green house gasses to offset the damage caused by meat production. Hard to believe, but true—the power of irony at work.

What we believed was good for us is killing everyone. We baby-boomers grew up believing the propaganda encouraging meat and dairy consumption. But unlike tobacco, we still believe in meat, doctors included. We all remember growing up with the “Four Basic Food Groups,” (3) only two of which were plant-based. The other two were various combinations of meat and dairy. We literally swallowed this myth, and it is still killing us. As much as we love the taste of bacon, it is equally poisonous. There is no escaping life's irony. When I turned 60 and my wife and I decided to adopt a sibling-set of three toddlers, I concluded that I’d better try to live forever, or at least until they were grown past dependency on others. My thirty-two-year-old daughter took me at my word and bought me How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger. (4) Read this well-researched book for verification of meat’s harmful effects on the human body. For meat’s effects on climate change, just "Google-it" for a vast bibliography of reputable sources. If, like me, you have been sitting in your car at a stop light wondering how you can do something to help combat climate change, ending your love affair with meat is a good start—and it might just save your life, as well. But it won’t be easy, and it won’t matter for the planet unless virtually everyone else does likewise. The Universe gives us hope and hopelessness simultaneously.

Equally damaging to our health is the destructive combination of cell phones and social media—our mental health, that is. Americans and people world-wide seek diversion from their hectic lives by using cell phones on an average of 96 times a day. This unhealthy habit epitomizes the cost of convenience. Every expedient action has an equal and opposite negative consequence. On-line shopping, for example, offers the convenience of shopping from anywhere with a cell phone, while it also threats the existence of neighborhood vendors, who depend on patrons actually showing up to buy something. For millions, cell phone use has become an obsession, and like most recreational drugs, the rush comes with a cost. Bullying, hate, fear, isolation and suicide are all multiplied by increased cell phone use (especially for the young). With cell phones at our fingertips, we encourage false friends, pretend causes, fake news, and zero downtime. Everybody talks on social media, but virtually no one is listening. No sooner are we “liking” something with a new emoji on Facebook than our attention is drawn to the next funny cat video, the latest version of Candy Crush, or fake news targeting our specific history on line. We never have to actually speak to anyone, just send a text. I don’t know why this seems as intimate, but it does, and it isn’t. What is worse, we don’t even have to stop working, walking, riding, or driving to partake in this deadly diversion. Texting while driving cost nearly 5,000 lives in 2018 alone— about half the amount of alcohol related driving deaths. The need to feel connected continually will not allow us to wait to text. Pause a discussion? We would rather risk our lives than not feel ever-present. Anything so expedient and superficial can not be good for us. Cell phones allow us instant access to everyone we know, and that can be extremely pleasurable. On-line games are also fun and extremely addicting. I see nothing wrong with any of these things in moderation, but the ease and near-constant use of cell phones encourage bad thinking habits and leaves no time for reading and other brain-healthy activities. When used in excess, they do nothing to enhance our thinking, and , instead, move us at the speed of the web away from the Mind of God.

Not only has the hand-held device robbed us of our privacy, it has trained our brains to avoid any form of sustained, linear thinking, without which there is no invention or problem solving. Texting, and specifically Tweeting, because it is extremely quick and easy, is also extremely dangerous. Like meat, there are both an individual and a societal cost. Just look at the 2016 election to see how easy it was for a foreign-adversary’s use of fake news and propaganda to convince millions that evil was good for them, and the truths that have held us together for generations were false. Propaganda on steroids. And now, texting has replaced traditional forms of governance, where policy by tweet can be created and then retracted in seconds. The President of the United States continually lied and committed crimes on-line with impunity all because some obscure Justice Department opinion says we shouldn’t indict an acting President no matter how many verifiable Obstruction of Justice, Jury Tampering, or Sedition felonies he openly commits on his cell phone. To say nothing of the Senators who pay closer attention to whoever is “trolling” them on line than the solemn oath they took to defend The Constitution of The United States of America. History may show that the expediency of cell phone use was a major factor contributing to the destruction of American exceptionalism and our legendary “Rule of Law.”

And if I haven’t railed enough against our collective sins, deriding the things we all love the most, now on to the ironies of football. The rest of the world calls it American Football to distinguish it from what only we call “soccer.” And it is everywhere in our culture and impossible to avoid. A weekly ritual while growing up, central to all of our school traditions, has seamlessly transformed into the nation’s most popular televised professional sporting events. I was a huge football fan for decades until the family of my biggest local football hero had his brain dissected after his apparent suicide. It was riddled with cavities caused by his concussive sport. No one who loves football will deny that Junior Seau played football the way it should be played. A ferocious tackler, he was never accused of taking a cheap shot on an opponent. He was a feared advisory, but equally respected and admired around the league. San Diego loved him for his efforts on and off the field, and he remains a role model for kids and families who love this game. Ironically for Junior, the sport he loved and dedicated his life to, killed him. His death was a direct result of the blows his brain took from growing up playing the game and becoming excellent at it. Junior’s condition is not rare among professional players. It is called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE. To their credit, the NFL has put more than 100 million dollars toward researching this disease, but aside from fining players for blatant head-to-head attacks during a game, nothing has changed in the sport.

The irony here is that the “protective” equipment that is mandated at every level of competitive football has been turned into deadly weaponry to be used against an opponent. As the sport has evolved to include more and more gear, it has become more and more violent. What used to resemble Rugby or Australian Rules Football, where violent contact is mitigated by exposure of the head and shoulders, now has the “protective” equipment reminiscent of Roman gladiators. Americans do not need more violent forms of entertainment. Football is a great game, whether it is played as a pick-up game in a large field or the street, or any organized form, from Pop Warner to the pro’s. But I have chosen to live a principled life in every way I can, and my aversion to violence won’t let me watch school or professional football while it continues to slowly kill its most proficient athletes. Maybe the NFL will someday be a less violent, dangerous endeavor. This is unlikely as long as fans and players would rather ignore this problem than face the prospect of losing some of the excitement and revenue from America’s most popular sport.

So, please forgive me for not climbing down off my high horse quite yet when I say, I have never been a frequent user of social media. Today, for me, it is no longer difficult to not eat beef, poultry and dairy, and I don’t even miss watching football…anymore. It wasn’t easy at first, but nothing good for you ever really is. Some of the things we love and can’t imagine living without are simply not good for us. We were created this way. Good joke. It has taken just one or two generations for our love of expediency to destroy us, perhaps permanently. How quickly we have forgotten a time when pen-pals would wait weeks for a response to their most intimate secrets, where kids played outside the view of adults until the street lights came on, where guns were kept in a locked cabinet until hunting season, and where politicians had to shake hands and kiss babies to get their platforms heard. I know that nostalgia for a simpler time accomplishes nothing, but there has to be a limit to how much automation and expediency a society can endure without mentally getting sucked into the slime of self-indulgence.

Please, take your kids’ cell phones away—a little old fashion boredom is good for them. And, who knows, they may learn to actually talk to you, that is, if you have time to listen. And look for the irony in everything. The more often you recognize it, the more often you will see that you are not always right, and that you are liking or choosing something for the wrong reasons. There is always another side to an argument, and just because something is popular, doesn't mean that it is good for you.

Now, let's go save this planet!

Endnotes

(1) This is not an original thought, rather, a well known quote from Hesse, Siddhartha: “The opposite of every truth is just as true!” Siddhartha explains to his lifelong friend, Govinda, that everything is a mixture of Samsara (illusion) and Nirvana (truth).

(2) Again, not original, this term is most famously coined in: The Mind of God, “The Scientific Basis for a Rational World,” by Paul Davies, which explains the unexplainable in logical, scientific terms.

(3) From 1956 until 1992 the United States Department of Agriculture recommended its "Basic Four" food groups. These food groups were:

1. milk

2. meat

3. fruit and vegetables

4. bread and cereals.

(4) For a critical review of Dr. Greger's book: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-not-to-die-review#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3