The mechanisms of denial, part 1: Slegs.
There's a Russian science fiction story (I've forgotten the author) about a nefarious device called a "sleg." If you switch on the sleg and slip it into your pocket, you enter a fantasyland in which all your goals have been realized. Society starts to crumble as more and more people retreat into the fantasy world of slegs. A resistance group of people devoted to the destruction of slegs is formed, but ultimately it fails when its members plug into slegs and fantasise that all the slegs have already been destroyed.
I think that this is one of the most perceptive metaphors I've ever seen in science fiction. Any movement, any ideal, can (and, by many of its adherents, will) be corrupted into sleggitude. Slegging is far easier than actually holding to your ideals. Even when you are on the lookout for slegs, you can sleg yourself. One of the fascinating things about Jesus is that he actually understood this. Matthew 7:21-23 is just one example of many:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
Of course, no one actually talks about this- it's one of Jesus's teachings that most Christians routinely ignore. (You know, like "he who lives by the sword will die by the sword," and "if a man sues you for your coat, give him your hat as well.") And as best I can tell, very few Christians actually say, "Hey, he's talking about me- if I'm not careful, I might be one of those people who thinks he's a great Christian, but is really just slegging!" When I present this passage to Christians, they usually moan about how Jesus was talking about those horrible gay Christians, or evolutionist Christians, or whatever.
And that is, of course, completely predictable. Even when you warn people about slegs, they find some sleg that will defuse the warning. The resistance plugs into slegs and fantasises that the slegs have been destroyed. If you think about it, it's deeply paranoia inducing. But, of course, most people don't get paranoid over it. They just tell themselves that they're immune to slegs, and that it's all those other sleg-addicted people who are the problem.
I think that this is one of the most perceptive metaphors I've ever seen in science fiction. Any movement, any ideal, can (and, by many of its adherents, will) be corrupted into sleggitude. Slegging is far easier than actually holding to your ideals. Even when you are on the lookout for slegs, you can sleg yourself. One of the fascinating things about Jesus is that he actually understood this. Matthew 7:21-23 is just one example of many:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
Of course, no one actually talks about this- it's one of Jesus's teachings that most Christians routinely ignore. (You know, like "he who lives by the sword will die by the sword," and "if a man sues you for your coat, give him your hat as well.") And as best I can tell, very few Christians actually say, "Hey, he's talking about me- if I'm not careful, I might be one of those people who thinks he's a great Christian, but is really just slegging!" When I present this passage to Christians, they usually moan about how Jesus was talking about those horrible gay Christians, or evolutionist Christians, or whatever.
And that is, of course, completely predictable. Even when you warn people about slegs, they find some sleg that will defuse the warning. The resistance plugs into slegs and fantasises that the slegs have been destroyed. If you think about it, it's deeply paranoia inducing. But, of course, most people don't get paranoid over it. They just tell themselves that they're immune to slegs, and that it's all those other sleg-addicted people who are the problem.
posted by Wintermute at 11:54 PM
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