Free

I want to live in a future where everyone is free to choose what they want to do, with a freedom that can only come from a deep understanding of who they are and how they fit into society and in history.

Dangerous ideas

I need to give more examples of ideas consuming the people that hold them, or forcing them to destroy each other. I'm writing from the evolutionary point of view of the ideas, treating them as entities, instead of from the people and cultures that support those ideas.

Human sacrifices took place in cultures all over the world, from Mesopotamia to America to the Far East. These sacrfices were mostly used as a bargaining chip, to appease gods or bring about good fortune. The ritualistic sacrifices help reinforce the beliefs and exalt the power of the deities - one certainly won't sacrifice human lives for lesser gods. The practices were spectacular: enormous temples or pyramids, magnificiant jewelry and art, songs and dances, all serve to imprint the idea on as many spectators as possible. In return, the cultures found justification in their ritual: usually those gods who demand sacrifice are believed to be able to control human lives anyway, by affecting the weather, warfare, disease, child-birth, etc. The rituals give the people some semblance of control over their chaotic and unpredictable lives.

Martyrdom is an newer concept, first encountered in the beginning of the Judeo-christian religion. Jesus was a prime example of one who died for their religious beliefs. The martyr's sacrifice must be a public one. Without witnesses or without the retelling of the associated circumstances, a martyr is just a victim. Sometimes the stories can make the martyr, holding up the image instead of the truth; this is a sign of its ideological nature. Like a human sacrifice, the martyr's story is made more compelling because of the death. But in the martyr's case, it is more so because the sacrifice was a personal choice. This choice makes martyrdom fundamentally different from human sacrifice; the participant is perfectly aware that his or her death will inspire the beliefs of others and become an example. How effective is martyrdom in spreading the faith? The crucifix has become one of the most recognized symbols in the world, and practices like public self-immolation and hunger-strikes are modernized variants of this powerful message. To encourage this self-destructive behavior, both the Bible and the Quran have passages that promise reward to believers who die while fighting for their God.

(More later on warfare, propaganda, and cult suicides)

Memes and ideas as a symbiotic parasite

Why are people willing to die for an idea? To charge into bullets for a flag, a symbol, a word? Why would people kill themselves for a promise? It doesn't make sense from an evolutionary or genetic point of view. There is no genetic benefit to dying for an idea, compared to the sacrifices one would make for siblings or children.

Susan Blackmore explains in her TED presentation how memes can evolve much like genetic organisms. Individual memes are fragments, but a collection of them can exhibit life-like behavior. Let's look at how these memetic parasites coexist with their hosts, the human mind. Most religions have tenets against murder (thou shalt not kill) and against suicide. That is a good example; it is a basic unit of idea; it specifies a behavioral trait; it is indivisible, easily identifiable and embedded in many different sources. In symbiosis, it is beneficial to have more minds for the memes to replicate in. An idea that has more believers is more powerful.

When threatened, though, these mind-parasites have no qualms about sacrificing the hosts. Why didn't Russia surrender to Germany in WW2? Denmark surrendered and bore almost no casualty. Compare the fates of Paris and Stalingrad. The extraordinary power of nationalism and the propaganda machine that pushed that idea compelled millions to sacrifice themselves in the struggle between two abstractions. Many people would die, or kill, without ever truly understanding what they are doing it for, without agreeing on what the Motherland is, or Freedom, or God's will; this is the power and the danger of memes.

I am oversimplifying things, of course, and there were many more factors and causes in historical analysis. But that doesn't diminish the value of this perspective. Of course ideas originate from people. Memes are born from minds. But once they get out, they no longer belong to any one person. Democracy may have originated in Athens, but it is not owned or controlled by Athenians. Ideas and concepts take life, replicating and preserving themselves through the centuries. The sooner we can understand what they work, what the mechanics are, the better we will be able to determine our own fate as a species, and not let ourselves be driven by forces beyond our control.

It made me feel better

"here, this should make you feel better." she gestured toward the console.

there's a yellow button here. on the button were the words "PUSH ME", printed in a very official-looking font.

"what does it do? what happens if i push the button?"

"it will make you feel better." she smiled.

"hmm." i reached for the button. the surface was smooth and rounded and felt slightly warm.

i pushed. it resisted for a bit, a token fight against the steady pressure of my finger. as it yielded, i felt something tiny and delicate breaking inside, not just a click but a snap. i pushed.

i pushed until it came down on the console with a solid bump, pinning it against the backrest. the machine dinged. it felt good, satisfying. i had defeated the button.

as i let off the pressure, the button pushed back at my finger, following it back up. it is taunting me, i thought. i will push it again. and again.

"see?" she said, with a twinkle in her eye.

Words

Mmmmm onomatopoeia.

Whisper.

Murmur.

Rustle.

Susurrus.