Magic thinking dominates the minds of those who are in charge of our government these days. They believe that if they make a law, mandate, or judgment, it becomes reality. Even the bureaucracy, which implements these policies, more or less believes that they can change reality.
In short, our leaders, be they politicians, law makers, executives, or judges, believe themselves to be gods among us. And while this belief may not be a conscious thought in their minds, their behavior suggests otherwise.
Last week, the Supreme Court issued many rulings that flew straight in the face of the United States Constitution, which they were supposed to defer to. First, they upheld the Affordable Care Act, then ruled that racism lawsuits can be made on the mere suspicion of racism, and finally ruled that marriages can occur with members of the same sex.
Over a century ago, the Supreme Court ruled that a tomato was a vegetable and not a fruit, as science tells us. For a time, they had also ruled that the death penalty was a cruel and unusual punishment though that ruling was overridden. And they have said that murder is fine and good, provided the victim was yet to be born from his or her mother.
In truth, the Supreme Court justices have a long history of engaging in magic thinking in order to override the staunch reality and truths which dictate our world. This is why when they say that marriage licenses need to be issued for members of the same sex, I understand it to mean that either they believe that sex is not a genetic condition or that lust is the only justification for marriage.
I wonder if our country, our culture is too introspective and thinks too abstractly. We tend to view events through a scope of supposed objectivity while at the same time declaring that morality is a subjective as we believe reality to be. Even economists seem to believe that they can control the interactions of millions of people.
The main reason why I am a political nihilist is because I don’t believe in magic thinking. I don’t believe that my thoughts can alter reality nor do I believe that government action can do so. No matter what I think or what others think, there is an objective reality, an objective truth. And despite our best efforts to ignore it, it often breaks through in surprising and unexpected ways.
So I refuse to accept the reality that these hacks are trying to impose on me. I refuse to recognize what they claim to be romantic love between two men or two women to be anything more than lust. Because that is what it is.
I refuse to accept that making it illegal to lack health insurance will make it affordable for everyone. Because in reality it does not.
And I refuse to believe in such a thing as racism. Because racism is in reality an attack against an opposing culture, not a race. Race is merely a classification in taxonomy. Culture is much, much more than that.
I encourage you to do the same.