What if the more strongly you react against an idea, the more that idea comes to define you?Consider the story of an atheist. Let’s make him a proud atheist. He’s happy and excited and wants to tell other people about atheism. You might say he’s an evangelist for it. Let’s make his efforts effective—he wins some converts, so to speak. Our atheist and his newly atheistic friends want to stay excited about it, so they start a weekly meeting. Let’s say their meeting is on Sunday mornings. They’re taking an hour or two to gather and celebrate atheism. After a bit, our atheist sees and hears some concerning things. His converts aren’t as clear and committed as he thought they were. They aren’t proper atheists. So he writes up a list of things one must ascribe to in order to stay in good standing with the group and rightly use the atheist label. We might call it a statement of unfaith. Do you see it? Our atheist now has a religion, the thing he was against at the outset.
Real world examples of becoming the thing you’re against abound—and some are concerning. You’ll never meet more sex-obsessed people than those in abstinence culture. A whole lot of thought and speech is suppressed in the name of the truth. Some of the most draconian codes of acceptable beliefs can be found amongst libertarians. The folks trying to save democracy during the last election worked awfully hard to ensure there was no democratic process to select either of their national candidates.
The reading this week presents two such stories. When social media influencers parents realize the fatal flaw in making money from exposing their lives and their kids for fame and money, they react against the idea by featuring their kids in the de-influencer documentaries that earn them fame and money. Whether they are using the influencer economy for fame and wealth or fighting against it for fame and wealth, well, you get the picture: the influencer economy’s fame and wealth is what defines them. The overlay of social circles and business success in places like Silicon Valley make things like a communal embrace of religion suspect. Were religious people pretending to be atheists to fit into the technology culture and less than these technologists attending the wealthy investor’s religious meeting for belief or to land a chance to pitch their startup ideas?
The last essay is a wise corrective. Beware the negative definition; beware the pendulum swing.
Reading
Christianity Was “Borderline Illegal” in Silicon Valley. Now It’s the New Religion
Believers like Garry Tan are flipping the script in the venture capital world, making faith matter just as much as the ability to turn a fortune. Says one entrepreneur, “There are people that are leveraging Christianity to get closer to Peter Thiel.”
Their Influencer Parents Used Them as Content. Are They Being Used Again Now?
The same children who were fodder for family influencers have become uneasy fodder for streaming documentaries.
The Great Overcorrection
When a pendulum swing becomes a wrecking ball.