A Cult Of Ignorance (just like Asimov said)
Recently I learned that some of our family members had become active participants in the rising phenomenon known as the ‘Cult Of Ignorance’. Initially identified in a 1980 Newsweek article by Isaac Asimov, this term exposed a fundamental divide between those who claim knowledge and those who actually have it. Asimov said it like this,
“there is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
Asimov initially focused his concern on the US, but it is clear that this trend has now spread globally. Today, the ‘’false notion’’ part of this quote is on vivid display across both social and traditional media channels. Here’s how it operates.
A vocal minority makes it their objective (and seemly their day job) to argue that in a democracy, freedom of expression means that their ignorance (on nearly any subject) is just as good as actual knowledge. Though often offensive and dangerous, these angry, angst-riddled engines continue their campaign of ignorance unchecked. Operating within their echo chamber, cult members listen for and then repeat misinformation and active disinformation wherever possible. Individuals and groups within this cult cast aside contrary perspectives, (especially when the truth is unpalatable) and the current global COVID-19 pandemic a case study in this kind of activity.
During the global pandemic, cult member voices have begun to surface more often. They appear with rabid anti-COVID-19 posts, anti-vaccination directions and widespread misrepresentation of facts, excitedly pumped across numerous social channels. A conspiracy theory can circle the globe in hours, reactivated by trolls, bots and even political leaders, bent on whipping up chaos in every corner.
Here’s an example: A recent US survey by Yahoo News and YouGov found that forty-four percent of Republican respondents said they believed that Bill Gates wanted to use coronavirus vaccines to implant location-tracking microchips into people. The survey also found that 19% of Democrats, 24% of independents, and 50% of people who watched Fox News as their primary source of TV news believed this baseless conspiracy theory. As these are not insignificant numbers, it clear that conspiracy theories can take root regardless of the reality.
The cult knows, without a doubt, that this “whole virus thing is a hoax.” They’re confident that they know more than the scientists understand and that all who disagree with their view are deluded. Asked to wear a mask to protect themselves and others, they cry foul and deride you as an oppressor. The cult will tell you they are entitled to freedom of speech/expression, even though they are not — because with freedom comes responsibility, which they refuse to take on. All of us have the responsibility and the obligation to gather knowledge and understanding of the facts before posting whatever willy-nilly idea comes into our heads or onto our screens. While evaluating information critically is a relatively simple ask, cult followers seem to have little concern for critical thought and refuse to consider any reasonable filter.
If you or I choose to challenge their content or rants, we can expect to be crowd bashed and ridiculed. The echo chamber will describe challengers as nomes, snowflakes, suckers, and socialist scum. (It’s weird how socialist is now a slur, even though the taunters can’t explain what they mean when using this term).
Hidden under the cult’s rhetoric are deep-seated fears of authority and control. Their growing angst over not being heard and their strong desire to assign blame for all of life’s woes onto others, fuels their social behaviour. The irony here is that these same self-righteous cult members are desperate to be led. Whether being led by the orange, feckless, leader south of the border with daily rants, insults and lies or by the well-organized bots, trolls and fame-seekers, these media cult members are desperate for someone (anyone) to tell them it will be alright. For them, the reality is too incredible to be true, so even when the truth is obvious, they’ll simply deny it. This pattern particularly obvious when speaking about stated facts by reputable scientific bodies. Here’s an example:
Science says: “There are over 112,000 people dead in the US due to the coronavirus, the largest number in the world.”
Cult Replies: “Someone is either lying about the numbers or tweaking numbers for political favour.”
Science says: “On April 16th, 2020 (near the peak of the COVID epidemic in North America), Canada was averaging 107 deaths per day, while on that same day the US averaged 4,928. The US must be doing something wrong.”
Cult Replies: “The left-wing media is manipulating the figures for political gain. We can’t compare different populations. States/cities/counties are padding their numbers to garner more funding.”
And on it goes, ignorance striking out against knowledge because their brainwashing is so complete that they will follow blindly to the end. Author Umair Haque describes the cult following like this. “A demagogue came along, who told them to blame their woes on Mexicans, Latinos, Jews, Muslims. They cheered and applauded him. They felt unsafe, small and hopeless. He told them they’d be great again. Soon enough, as a pandemic ripped through society, and left a hundred thousand dead, the demagogue was golfing, telling the people to drink bleach.” It’s as plain as this for the world looking at us from the outside.
My point of highlighting this cult-like thinking is two-fold. First, these voices are now striking close to home, and while I understand that they are a small, very vocal minority, they need to be exposed and shut down whenever possible. It’s easy to say that we should turn the channels off, though it’s challenging to turn off the dinner table and all future gatherings. Second, we all have access to this newfound media megaphone, and we need to establish better rules of play. If 142 years ago, people would have grabbed Edison’s megaphone and started yelling obscenities, lies and misinformation into people’s ears, offenders would have been arrested, beaten mercilessly and locked up. Allowing today’s equivalent megaphones to be used unchecked is hurting everyone and equivalent to a societal crime. This ongoing crime is now is now being automated, with no human filter at all, making our current discussions spaces threatening and dangerous. Just as we should not tolerate people spewing hate, misinformation and conspiracy theories in person, we should not tolerate this in online communication. It takes a host to spread a virus and also to spread misinformation.
Let’s start calling them out, reporting the cult leaders and taking away their channels. Ask the platforms to block them. Copy their feeds and prepare your case for their employers, their families and their followers. Let’s make it clear that there is no room for their horrible online behaviour and expose the cultists for the weak, desperate bullies that they are. If they are unprepared to THINK before they post, then we need to provide that filter.
