belief essay

8/9/2019 Belief Essay

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Ultimate NihilismPeer pressure, no matter what we like to think, exists for the sole purpose of maintaining a status quoand deliberately detrimental and confusing expectations. It is ubiquitous in society and we are all

subject to it. This pressure forces us to act irrationally and act in alignment with the status quo upon

fear of being ostracized by society or death. Unfortunately, this conformity comes at a high cost to

the individual because he must give up his individual identity and values. At the same time, themasses continue to be unaware that they have helped perpetuate the corrupt status quo that runs and

enslaves our society.As a student, this status quo is imposed on me everyday as I am expected to fulfill the standards ofmy teachers and peers. If there is a test, I must work to get an Aon it because that is what isexpected of a student. If there is a homework assignment, I am expected to finish it. If there is an

essay, I am expected to write it by a certain date and in a certain way. There is almost nothing thatsays that I must learn the material that is taught in class. In fact, I doubt very many departments, save

for the English one, will be able to tell if a student has taught him or herself to a test instead of

understood the material. Personally, I doubt that students actually care to learn the material for the

sake of learning. In fact, I believe that most of the students care more for the grade.I must admit that I am one of those students who will prefer the grade over the material. I am not

above the standards that are expected of me by my parents or teachers. I prefer to cheat the system

rather than succeed in it. This cannot be helped because I am only human and I like to form my ownopinion through critical thinking. Yet the system is what judges me and I forces me to abandon my

preferences in exchange for survival. To talk about a specific time when I have betrayed this would

be trying to find a hay in a needle stack. But for the sake of assignment, I will not turn this essay intoa philosophy oriented one.The Delusions of BeliefAcademia is so deluded to the point where we do not recognize the real world. We believe the entire

world to be whatever the teacher tells us it is because that is all we know. As students, we only

recognize success by the letter that is written at the top of our papers and on the report cards. In fact,this view is imposed upon us because parents and teachers continually push for students to earn more

and more As without caring whether or not the student has learned anything from the class. As a

result, humanity fails to recognize the real world, what happens in it, and therefore, is ignorant to howthe actions of the real world affect it. Humanity continues to become dumber and dumber for they

become unable to critically think about the world. Critical thinking is not required to get an Ainany particular class (if anyone can point out specifically to what percent of a classs grade iscomposed of critical thinking, I will take this essay and tear it up) and as a result, we students reject

the skill. We become ignorant as a result of our desire to survive in a corrupt world that values a letterover knowledge.


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In an attempt to compromise for the people who are unable to understand the reality or simply cannot

understand what is happening in the real world, I will attempt to the best of my knowledge to make

this paragraph relevant to the sensationalist garbage people see on television. If you did a poll of your

class, you would find that more people watch The Jersey Shore on MTV than any program on anygiven news network. Simply put, more people would rather watch teens with large silicone breasts

yell at men on steroids rather than educate themselves of the dilapidating political system. The only

reason Fox is the most watched news network is because they do not have objective news. They spintheir information with a conservative bias and the people accept whatever they see and hear on that

network at face value. In other words, Fox is thinking for these people and the people trick

themselves into thinking that whatever opinion is on Fox is their own. In reality, the opinion isimposed upon them because the population refuses to critically think about the world as a result of

our misplaced values of education and knowledge.In other words, what core beliefs do we truly have? What makes the population think that the

opinions and values they hold dear are their own?Because of our refusal to think, we also cannot form outside beliefs other than the ones we hear abouton TV or our peers. A massive majority believes that human life is sacred, religion should be a guide

for life, capitalism is the best system ever, and the political system in which we live is really

bipartisan. But what makes these people think this way?

If life was so sacred, why were the Christians killing people left and right during the Inquisition andthe Crusades, especially considering that they are the group who emphasize the fifth commandment?

If religion is truly a guide for life, why do we have so many different religions and why does America

tend to discriminate against one Catholicism while accepting Protestantism? If capitalism is the bestsystem, why is the wealth gap between the rich and poor growing greater and greater in this country

and other countries such as Brazil? If the political system is truly bipartisan, why does Goldman

Sachs contribute to the Democrats and Republicans campaigns? All this information is cannot befound in widely watched shows likeHouse, Two and a Half Men, orThe Jersey Shore. This is all

information that can be found if one reads books, watches the news, or does independent research

about the world. People do not and therefore, they believe whatever the person next to him says istrue. People believe in all of these values because someone else said so without knowing why the

values are worthy, blindly accepting the truth because of it's sweet sound and popularity.Imposed BeliefsNow to the point of the essay: if all our views are imposed upon and installed in us, why would we

betray them? Why do we not take comfort in the idea that our ideologies are given to us on a silverplatter? Why do we not simply let the flow of society take us wherever? Why must we think about

the big questions in life?The short answer: because certain beliefs validate our existence and we will accept whatever sounds

good to us. But your beliefs are limited because of a refusal to think outside the box.


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To begin, let us examine at why we betray beliefs. Beliefs are used to determine an identity of a

person. Why does someone believe in a certain belief or value? It is because it validates their

existence. To prove this point, let us think in reverse: why does someone reject a certain belief or

value? Because it invalidates their existence. If someone believes in a belief, it validates theirexistence. If a belief does not validate their existence, they do not believe in it (contrapositive). An example of this is the corporations that run our lives. Since most of us believe in capitalism, it issuitable that I write a paragraph attacking this value. If a company were to suddenly adopt the idea of

care and sympathy, the capitalist system would collapse. This is because capitalism is driven bycompetition and the profit motive, two principles that are completely contradictory to moral

consideration. The only reason that we do business or work for society is because of money.

Corporations, because they are subjected to this system, inherently adopt this view of money'simportance as well. They will only perform an action because of a desire and opportunity for money.

If they decided that they should suddenly care about the wellbeing of the consumer, we would not see

corporations as so malicious. However, in exchange for that, corporations would be bankrupt.For example, if a corporation decided to say I have a decent car for sale but the person next doorsells a better car that is fuel efficient, safer, and cheaper, they would not stay in business for too

long. Competition and the capitalistic system would force that honest corporation out of business

because they couldnt earn money. People want the best and it is natural for people to go follow theobject or idea that benefits themselves the most. Therefore, corporations cannot afford to be honest

without going bankrupt and therefore, they will disappear. They will not adopt a policy of honesty

unless there is a law that will penalize the companies for not being honest (consumer protection isdesigned to protect people from dishonest businesses) because honesty would kill the corporation.If that does not make sense, let us try something a little more relevant to home. If a corporation

decided to dump toxic waste into the environment to save money, we view that as a violation of

morals because it is being irresponsible. However, if a corporation such as Walmart decides to dobusiness in a small town and drives other smaller shops out of business, do we see that as

irresponsible? If your job is replaced by a machine, do you call a corporation irresponsible? You

usually do not and simply accept the reality that a machine is replacing your job without a secondthought. But the belief and motive is the same: profit. A company will dump in the environment to

save money. A corporation will drive others out of business for the same reason. A corporation will

replace your job with a machine to reduce costs by downsizing and therefore you will loose your job.

This reality is just being viewed from different angles. The belief is the same and it is adoptedbecause it ensures the corporations survival.If a corporation was honest and cared for others, it would not perform any of these abnormal or

inconsiderate actions. As said before, honesty would kill a corporation and therefore, even though

honesty is a moral belief, it is not adopted.Breaking Beliefs

Doesn't the fight for survival also justify swindle and theft? In self defense, anything goes.


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So what would possibly drive someone to betray a belief? For the same reason that someone would

adopt an idea to begin with: it validates their existence. This includes, but is not limited to, lying,

cheating, and any other form of hypocrisy that comes to the human mind. People lie all the time for

gain and often feel no moral or ethical guilt unless they are caught in the act and found guilty bypublic opinion.

I urge those who are about to condemn my last paragraph to not expect the normal behavior ofsomeone under the stress of guilt to be melodramatic: almost nobody will break down nervously or

randomly after an undetermined amount of time unless they are caught. If people really did feel guiltfor betraying principles, Bernie Madoff would have plead guilty long before his trial, cheating on

marital fidelity would not be so commonplace, and capitalism would not be attacked on ethical

ground so profoundly.As long as someone has something to gain, abandoning a value, even if it is hypocritical, is a likely

possibility. George Carlin, one of the greatest comedians of all time, mentioned that many Americans

are full of shit.A euphemistic substitute for full of shitwould be something along the lines of aneurotic tendency to lie.

And the sad part is, most people seem indoctrinated to believe that bullshit only comes from certain

places, certain sources: Advertising, politics, salesmen. Not true! Bullshit is everywhere. Bullshit is

ramping. Parents are full of shit, teachers are full of shit, clergymen are full of shit, and law-

enforcement people are full of shit.


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Yet these parents believe that what theyre doing is for the children. It is not: they are doing this for

themselves. They feel that they themselves are inadequate so they must masturbate to the idea that

their success lies in the success of their children. That is why parents hang bumper stickers of We

are the proud parents of an honor student at _____and often brag about the achievements of theirchildren to their friends at parties. I speak from personal experience when I say that when parents get

together, they spend at least half the time talking about what their children are doing in school and

how excellent they are. To the parents reading this: when was the last time when you asked yourchild what he wants to do with his life? When was the last time when you asked your child to make

his own choice instead of select a choice from a pool that you have created? Parents delude

themselves into believing that what theyre doing is benevolent when, in reality, they are only actingon their subconscious self-servant belief for an odd sense of gain.Im Just Like You: Accept My Existence!

"You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated

conformists".

Abbie Hoffman


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People choose beliefs that are accepted as politically correct and announce them to the world because

nobody wants to look bad. Once again, nobody wants to critically think: they want beliefs handed to

them on a silver platter. This is a hard concept to understand but there is another way to think about

it: rarely does anybody believe in a belief that the masses do not. In fact, people often reject beliefsthat society says are evil or politically incorrect. When was the last time someone acknowledge that

Communism has its merits? When was the last time someone in class spoke out against the faulty

actions of a teacher? Probably never because everyone is afraid of how society judges them. Theymay believe in different beliefs than what they say they believe in, but it is this hypocrisy that only

furthers the point of betraying a belief for gain. What is the point of having a belief if one does not

act upon it?Such an obsession with self righteousness, self protection, and gain will ultimately lead to thebetrayal ofbeliefs in order to reaffirm a person's existence. Beliefs loose all meaning once someone

refuses to act upon them, for it moots its message and nobody will take it seriously. Since beliefs

validate existences, it is necessary for it to shape the person's experience to stay alive and vice versa.

So the final and logical question to ask is: what do we do with the people who have radically differentideas and announce it to the world? What if it challenges our existence? We call them a Communist,

Socialist, Nazi, and every other word the Teabaggers have thrown at Obama. Im serious. But let us

not look at simply what is done by the people whose existences are challenged. Rather, let us look atpeople who present these ideas to gain a better understanding of how people treat them and the

consequences.People really do fear public scrutiny and this fear is a prevalent factor in why society is paralyzed and

thus humanity itself is too. People are subject to peer pressure, for it is a fear of letting theexpectations of the masses down that drives people to conform with them, even if it betrays their own

belief. This once again plays to the idea of gain, for if one conforms to society, they gain social

acceptance. A good example of this is everyday life at the school or in the workplace: people aremore willing to suck up to teachers or bosses to earn their favor instead of telling them they are not

teaching or are a responsible manager because they will be looked down upon by the higher-ups who

determine the status quo that the lower people must follow. A teacher decides the grades of a studentand as a human being, is more likely to be lenient towards someone who feeds him or her a sweet lie

instead of a bitter truth. This is the same with bosses in the workforce: he or she will give a pay raise

to someone who always sucks up to them compared to someone who always criticizes their job. It is

this need to survive through social acceptance that paralyzes growth itself for the need to change theflaws in a social system or structure is continuously hindered by the ignorance and lies given to

survive. A person may believe that a social system is faulty but is forced to participate in it because it

is the one that controls their lives and determines their survival. Those who are challenged by theindividual do not act honestly or are gracious for the criticism but rather, act spitefully towards the

person, even though one can learn more through criticism than a lie. Thus, the need to conform

enslaves everyone and kills their ability to transform the system by destroying their right to speak outagainst it.


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Religion is a perfect example for it is the apex of ignorance in human society. Religion is simply a

perpetuated power structure based on outdated beliefs. It rejects science to explain the existence of all

things in the universe and gives the claim of creation to a being they cannot meet until they die. To

the population, we believe that DNA is the very code for the individuals existence, replicating andcreating our cells and biological necessities. We believe in the big bang theory and teach it over the

idea of intelligent design,a thinly veiled form of religion. We believe in a heliocentric universerather than a geocentric universe that religion has perpetuated. As a result of this challenge to anoutdated belief system, religion has imprisoned and oppressed many people who come up with new

ideas. Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms was an attempt at stopping Luthers radical protestant

ideas of salvation through faith as it would reject the role of the pope and a church, two things thatcould perpetuate the Catholic Churchs control. The Catholic Church even put Galileo Galilei under

house arrest for publishing his findings on a heliocentric universe because God was not even given

credit in the book, which would result in weakening the power of religion. This continual rejection

and punishment of those who create new ideas that challenge the existence of people and institutionsis a constant in our society. Even though America adopts Protestantism over Catholicism and believes

in the heliocentric universe today, the ideas were rejected back then instead of examined. Therefore,

we can say that ideas will continually progress and people will continually try to stop the ideasthrough whatever means necessary to preserve their own existence. Yet, religion is perpetuated because it plays to humanitys fear of loss. Logic and new information

are rejected in the name of salvation. Religion convinces people that they will lose everything and

burn in a fiery pit of death forever and that a certain religion is the only path to escaping from it.Religion thus perpetuates faith,an assumption of the facts without a logical examination. This iswhy it can survive, even though religion itself makes no sense: because the masses are scared into

believing it. Fear mongering is religions greatest weapon and its credibility through constantperpetuation keeps it alive. We trust religion because it has existed for thousands of years and take

solace in the idea of living in a heavenly afterlife. But this is only because nobody has been able to

organizes the masses into destroying it and thus, the masses who do believe in religion, perpetuate it.People join because of this idea of a fire pit of death and are scared into believing it for their own

survival. When one person is deluded, we call it insanity. When the masses are deluded, we call it

religion.Social conformity is the norm and it dictates our beliefs. We may call it euphemistically peerpressure, but it is nothing more than humans imposing beliefs. Our refusal to think fuels this status

quo. We can only choose from a handful of beliefs because of our fear of ostracization and our refusal

to think.


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VerdictSo what have we come to? We are now people who attack and refute beliefs and the individuals who

create them instead of examining them for validity. We erroneously associate being wrong or being

different with failure because failure means that our existence has diminished. Whenever there is anew belief or idea that challenges our own, especially when it threatens our existence, we are quick to

reject it instead of considering it. A radical idea that seeks to break the boundaries of the humanimagination is often met with insult and ignorance for it often challenges the existence of current

ideas. We insult those who create these beliefs instead of thanking them for having a creative mind.Instead, we should be honoring failure as a way of bringing an individual to a whole new level of

understanding and strengthening their view of the world. New ideas will continually replace old ones.

Greater understanding of the world we live in will always replace the archaic assumptions of ancientpeople. We have gone from religion to science, from alchemy to chemistry, from the agricultural

revolution to the industrial revolution, from spears and swords to guns, and from mail to the Internet.

It is inevitable that ideas will be replaced by new ones as the need arises so does it make sense that

we should welcome ideas instead of shun them?Yet, we are unable to because we have become self appointed guardians of the status quo. We

ostracize whoever is different and it is this fear of being cast out from the group that makes the

individual no longer an individual. A person becomes a copy of what they see in mainstream society

upon fear of being cast out for being different. We become sheep that no longer need a dog to tell uswhere to stand or what not to do for the group automatically rejects anyone who is different. This can

be seen in racism, discrimination, and the exile of radical thinkers. This bigoted train of thought

cannot be removed unless we are able to change ourselves first, challenge the status quo, andovercome the fear of being ostracized.

There is no point to a belief if one does not act upon it. People can have an opinion but it is

meaningless in the face of establishment because whatever the establishment says is the truth

becomes the truth. As a result, betrayal of beliefs is always a constant for humans must constantlyupdate their beliefs to conform to the status quo and not to what he or she individually believes. This

conformity will only perpetuate the lies that people are cohered into.

Peoples ideas are never their own unless they have experienced them first hand and not through what

the television tells them. People betray the beliefs they believe in for gain. People reject ideas thatdestroy their existence. There is no consistency to humanity when it comes to beliefs.

The very idea of a belief is to validate a persons existence and it thus creates a barrier that imprisons

ones self from progress. It serves as a barrier to progress itself for ideas are only accepted by aperson when they benefit him or her.


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For example, our belief in money serves as a barrier to progress. When politicians talk about

legislation, they do not consider the environmental damage first nor do they consider human life: they

focus on how much it will cost. They focus on money and create the fear of debt to block legislation

(a familiar health care reform bill tune by the Republicans.) People, when they consider doing favors,think win-win, which is really a euphemism for what do I get out of this? What's in it for me?

This is especially true in business as well. But if we took a step back, we would realize that money

run on faith, we realize that if we did not believe in a simple piece of paper to dictate our lives, wecould accomplish much more. Corporations would have no grounds to block environmental

legislation and people would not becomes slaves to debt. In fact, if the world stopped believing in

money, we could fix the debt that we fear by making it not exist.Therefore, considering all these factors, there is no such thing as a belief: just a delusion for ideas areconstantly changing. There is no real thing as a belief system. There is no such thing as God. It is

only a matter of time before ideas become updated and more and more of the truths of the world that

the establishment tries to hide and suppress in order to maintain its agenda of self preservation cometo light. There is no such thing as a smart human being: just a person who can think different than

others. Unfortunately, the idea of intelligence has become so distorted by the desire to maintain the

status quo that intelligence is only considered when it benefits the individual or the system and neverthe collective.Although it seems ideal to say that if everyone believed in the same thing that everything would be

fine, that is an ignorant view for it imprisons all of humanity in a bubble. This is the view of people

who only want to believe that everyone should believe in the same things as him or her. Beliefsfundamentally serve to validate an existence and to spread that would be selfish and self-servant for it

forces its views onto other people.Everyones beliefs are meaningless when it comes to the necessities of life. The planet cannot run on

money but it can run on the light and heat it gets from the Sun. Us humans, regardless of race orreligion, are born naked, drink water, and eat food. We realize what connects all of us is this idea that

all of us are really a part of nature: we are sub-servant to it, not ourselves nor anyone else nor a

system. When we believe in nothing, we find the answer to everything. John Salk, the man whocreated the vaccine for polio, could have become a billionaire many times over with his vaccine. But

he didn't believe in privatizing a life saving vaccine and therefore, he didn't patent it. He lived a good

life with his salary as a university professor. If it wasn't for a man like Salk, a lot of us would be

dead, regardless of religion, race, or social status.Its time we looked at the world from it's perspective and not from our own. Beliefs are nothing but

tools for selfish survival. We do not own anything. We are not the single greatest entity on the planet.

The planet is it's own entity and we are not it's masters: it owns us. We cannot survive without it and no

matter what we believe in, the belief is simply moot in the grand scheme of things. But if we do not tryto eliminate our beliefs and the bigotry that arises from it, we are doomed to endless wars and the

destruction of the world and each other.

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