Richard E Conricus

Fear of Globalization Richard E Conricus

How can citizens respond in the face of the fear of the unknown which extremists and populists exploit? What is it that limits the ability to understand, and instead creates anxiety about the other and the unknown? The major culprit is, in my opinion, that remarkable phenomenon called political correctness, which creates a blinkered view in the media and among the established parties, further veiled by conciliatory rhetoric, a view which neglects decisive cultural differences. As a result, citizens are driven to look for other ways to express their grievances. When democratic humanism meets anti-humanist theocracy, a conflict arises. For theocrats, God's decrees are untouchable, whereas the humanists regard such views as personal values which must be valued as highly as the humanist's own ideals. The result is that the humanist with humanistic values of understanding, tolerance, compassion, reconciliation and respect for the individual, seeks sympathy for the victims rather than scrutinizing the conduct of the victimized opposite. The theocrat, on the other hand, perceives the humanist as utterly in error, because he does not submit to God, or marginalizes God to almost nonexistence It is my contention that the populists, whether left- or right-wing, whether élite or common, owe their gains to people's fear, ignorance, unwillingness and inability to understand non-secular cultures. During the 250 years of commune development, from the Enlightenment to today's humanism and democracy in the West, we have become unable to handle opposing ways of life.