1/ Distinguishing the fine line between Objection & Disrespect was a key to western culture. Tyrants around the world, for 1000s of years, rejected any serious objection as a form of disrespect.
no objection = no progress.
radical objection = chaos
2/ The most ancient text in western civilisation is Iliad, by Homer.
Epic poems from other cultures praised their glorious leaders. Iliad kicks off with a DEBATE in a COUNCIL & OBJECTION to the leader. According to Homer ignoring objections & warnings is payed by a high price.
3 / The fathers of the church combined Jesus’ OBJECTION to Pharisees, with Socrates OBJECTION to Sophists. Teaching kids how to respectfully object.
That was called as Ecclesiastic Paideia (christian education), combined with Thyrathen paideia (non-christian, classics).
4 / Christianity evolved as the strongest movement of objection to Roman authority.
Today the most illiterate generation in the planet believes that you couldn’t object the Pope. That’s False. Stalin was the true archetype of leader that you could NOT Object.
5/ Example: Today, it’s “common knowledge” that Copernicus was going against the Church w/ his heliocentric model.
In fact it was the Pope & Cardinals that financed him gave him ancient manuscripts & URGED him to publish radically new ideas, OBJECTING the scientists of his time.
6/ Modern constitutions, parliaments, civil liberties & institutions come from British Royalty & Aristocracy, inspiring the french enlightenment. The British moved forward with new levels of objection to the Pope (externally) and objection to their King (internally).
7/ We can summarise the heart of modern civil culture in one phrase “His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition”. Notes:
– Opposition was written with capital “O”.
– Opposition is NOT disloyalty.
It’s part of being loyal and serving the public interest with opposing views.
8/ German products are superior because in German culture there is a brutal honesty in judging efficiency & productivity. It’s the healthy objection to trash products that makes productivity superior. BS is called out.
9/ Greek philosophy is superior because in Greek culture there was (and still is) a brutal honesty in criticising sources of abstract ideas. Modern ideas by major European philosophers (like Voltaire) are called out as naive wishy-washy culture (θολοκουλτούρα) by the greeks.
10/ China is full of ghost cities. Buildings with materials falling over & elevators breaking so often that some prefer to take the stairs for precaution. Why? Chinese IQ is supposed to be high. Science & tech is thriving. What is missing?No literature of healthy objection!
11/ The phrase “Radical progressive” is oxymoron. Radical opposition is AGAINST healthy opposition, thus against progress.As @promulgatus phrased it “revolutions don’t scale”. They can scale into tyranny quickly since INEPTITUDE survives better by SILENCING OPPOSITION.
12/ When freedom of speech is silenced (like we gradually see in US) there is a major symptom through time: “ACCIDENT ACCELERATION”.
USSR fell from within, after Chernobyl disaster. It was a wake up call that communist kids can’t play with matches without burning the house.
13/ Tsipras is textbook example of marxist accident acceleration. After selling Macedonia, removing classics from examinations, by ignoring all warnings he let a local fire become the 2nd deadliest fire of the 21st century WITHOUT any ALERT or EVACUATION.
14 / We can’t review the topic of OBJECTION in western history without mentioning J. Chrysostom: Archbishop of Constantinople, pillar of Christianity, most prolific Orthodox author, introduced Christmas. He was finally EXILED for his constant OPPOSITION to ABUSE OF AUTHORITY.
Source