#be curious

[behaviornerdwithahat]

Is it really boring or do you just not know enough to be interested?

[alleyj]

Hello toad

[church-on-a-lakeside]

On cults & education

CW: brief mentions of poison and abuse

When I told my brother that I was christopagan and occasionally going to Quaker silent worships, he told me to be careful. And from an objective standpoint, I understand why. Our father grew up in the bad sort of Catholicism. My maternal grandfather abandoned his wife and toddler daughters for a cult that poisoned literal hundreds of people (no deaths). I try to joke about it but this man whom I have never met was legitimately part of a cult that poisoned hundreds of people.

It genuinely is a huge fear of mine that I'll end up in a cult. It feels nearly inevitable, like it's a curse on my bloodline. I've had nightmares about this. Even my hope of someday being an ordained minister, hand-fasting inter-faith couples, feels dangerous. Like any drop of organized religion will have the same effect: becoming part of a cult. (This is an effect of anti-theist beliefs on children, by the way.)

But the thing about cults is that they control information. Control what people read and see, control what they think, control what they do. The phrase "knowledge is power" is simply true. This occurs in many places, not just religion; cults can form basically anywhere.

Cults control information. So I, as a self-studying scholar, am doing the exact opposite of any sort of cult activities. So it feels quite silly that my brother would tell me to be careful when going to Quaker silent worship when he's seen my collection of academic texts. Not even sermons; the silent worships, where we all sit in a circle and meditate and sometimes someone says something. And if you know anything about Quakers, you know that they have generally a good reputation.

I think, as long as someone is willing to pick up a book, learn from someone new, be uncomfortable and confused and even scared for a bit, they'll be less susceptible to cult tactics. Of course, "you are not immune to propaganda", but damn can we fight it just by being curious.

[dehex18]

I have found it increasingly reliable to say that life and the world are much easier to navigate as a curious person than a judgmental person and that curious people are typically nicer to be around.

[thecan8dianadventurer]

[lunarwings-rambles]

what pisses me off the most in discussions about capitalism and all its systems is this rhetoric that people only do things because they're getting paid. that if there was no wage "reward" at the end of the day, people wouldn't work. and I just don't agree with that.

there are so many people who pursue interests simply because they want to. people who design and create and fix things just because they have fun doing so. if you looked me in the eyes and told me "you could learn any profession you want, but you won't make money for it, however all your living needs will be provided for" it would not take long for me to find a place where I was comfortable.

"what's the point of working if you're not making anything or not achieving wealth" perhaps its just because I don't want to see people suffer. maybe it's because we live in a vast and complex universe, with so much that we don't understand. when you look at the night sky do you not wonder what grand, breathtaking, wonderous things are out there waiting to be found? when you look at the sea, do you not marvel at how life can find a way to persist in such unique ways?

there is so much more than you in the world. there is more to life than doing what it takes to survive. so much more, if you are just willing to look for it, to chase it.

we, as a people, could be so much more if we just let the "every man for themselves" mentality die. if we raised each other up, perhaps then we could truly grasp the stars.

[alleyj]

Good morning little one