Not Meant for Oppression

There is only so much a human being can take. We are not meant for oppression, and this is clearly proven as we study history.

The oppressive nature of the Catholic Church overshadowed any good that it meant to offer. With the advent of the printing press, we began to see people finally have the opportunity to express themselves. Ideas poured out like a firehose, and there was no going back. From this time forward, each new era saw even more and more human creativity and determination to express oneself both individually and collectively.

Of course, along with the positive effects of freedom came the negative: war and destruction and even more oppression in other ways. I am guessing that had the Catholic Church not been so domineering over the centuries, we might not have seen such a severe pushback.

We can take this “story” of history, learn from it, and carry out better relationships in our families. Too often, we see domineering and dogmatic parents raising their children with a determination that the children will grow up to do and be everything the parents want them to. When this doesn’t happen, there is a division in families just as we saw in the peoples of our past.

Children do not like to be told how to think and what to believe. As parents, it is our job to allow them to find their own way, guiding them along with a hand of safety and a heart of love. To be sure, we will not like nor approve of many of their choices. But this is not a problem to “go to war” over. Instead, let us embrace the good and learn from the difficulties of watching others use their agency in their own lives.

Let us be the best examples of what tolerance should be.

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Humility or Repression?

      In a historical sense, the Renaissance seems to be widely interpreted as a "freeing" of the mind from the shackles of religious self-deprecation. In the Middle Ages, the holy role of king was to...motivate...his subjects to embody Christlike attributes such as humility, submissiveness, and meekness. 

      While this sounds like a noble endeavor, it usually resulted in oppression, and, more importantly, a significant repression of thoughts and creativity. When one tried to create beauty that wasn't directed completely towards God, it was self-gratifying and vain. Thus, the Renaissance was seen as beauty's hero, send to free the minds of men from the cage of forced humility. 

      The natural effects of hardened dogmatism have not changed since then, though the times have certainly been generous to artistic freedom. In some parts of the world, certain communities remain rather attached to some of the more medieval aspects of Christianity. In such communities, when a youth is ambitious or aggressive in his or her journey to make it in the world, those ambitions are put down in short order and the youth is told "don't get ahead of yourself, you're not that important."

      Never having been an overly patriotic sort of person, it makes me consider what makes Americans feel freer to follow their dreams and passions? Maybe it's because humanism doesn't develop pride and selfishness, but simply encourages people to live up to their potential. Does pursuing humility mean giving less effort to living a full and engaged life? 

      In my estimation, humility is not inverse to achievement. In fact, how can one be humble without any achievements? Is humility the war against pride, or simply the absence of anything to be proud of? Such was the dilemma of the Renaissance.

      As Friedrich Nietzsche once put it, "Of all evil I deem you capable: Therefore I want good from you. Verily, I have often laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good because they had no claws.” (Thus Spoke Zarathustra)

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