Each of us is captive to embedded ideologies

Ideology holds us all captive.

That, of course, is neither good nor bad, rather simply a consequence of being human with a large and contemplative brain

Robert Jensen.

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Further, the ideology to which we are enslaved with was not present at birth rather it arose from our culture, family environment and the influences of our peer group.

Again, whatever myths, values and beliefs become the software of our lives are of themselves neither good nor bad either rather, it’s how we intimately experience them, apply them to our lives and relate to others through those ideas.

Beyond all that, the accident of our place of birth brings with it a host of ideologies, some that are simply about survival and others that reflect the essence of the society in which we are raised.

Australia’s recent federal election was a subjective struggle between ideologies; ideologies distorted invariably by the personality cult and played out before an audience frequently unable to distil individual emotions and wants from the broader and critical public needs of Australian society.

Ideologies are, of course, not fixed, although their permanence is such that to rise above or beyond them can be a task beyond the capacity of most and so although a prevailing ideology may spell doom, rarely can we escape it.

Our ideologies have changed because of major revolutions with the popular view suggesting that those of most significance are the America, French and Russian, but the better answer is really the agricultural, industrial and delusional revolutions.

The first gave us what is considered civilisation, but that robbed us of the egalitarianism of tribal living, the industrial revolution accelerated our extractive behaviour and now we live in delusory times.

Writing in “Arguing for Our Lives”, Robert Jensen says: “Perhaps the most stunning example of this is that during the 2000s, as the evidence for human-caused climate disruption became more compelling, the percentage of the population that rejects or ignores that science has increased.”

“Why would people who, in most every other aspect of life accept without question the results of peer reviewed science, dispute the overwhelming consensus of climate scientists in this case, he asks?

It is here that ideology intrudes, overriding good sense and leaving people marooned on what was once an isthmus, which science having sliced though leaving it remote from the mainland.

Our extractive behaviours take no account of earth’s finitude and nor do our pre-conceptions, our ideologies or our willingness to discount the future expand our chance of escaping from this delusory age.

Again, ideologies are neither good nor bad rather, it is how we respond and apply them to the lives of others and, of course, understanding how pursuit or ignorance of them can impact on the planet.