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Perspective
Activism – A New Religion?
By Michael Kelsey
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary provides the following as a definition of religion: “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” Interesting! Notice that first word – “cause.” A synonym for cause could be activism, don’t you agree? If you ponder for a moment the activist movements that champion animal rights and environmentalism, you may find yourself thinking that activism is a new religion.
Religion has been a very focal point of humans since our creation. We all worship something. For some it is something material like money or maybe something impalpable like power. Some folks even adore themselves! For many people, God is the receiver of their worship. And yet in a country with strong Christian roots, activism is gaining more and more disciples in our culture today.
Unfortunately for many misguided folks, Mother Earth has replaced God. They are reverent to the created rather than the creator. So devoted are they that many have given their lives either in time or in blood (sometimes both) for their belief. While saddening for many reasons, it should not be surprising.
Most psychologists agree that people believe in and honor a higher power or greater cause – “Something bigger than me exists out there and when I identify it, I will worship it.”
For more and more folks, that hunger manifests itself in devotion to a cause to preserve animal rights or the environment. Why is this? Were many of these folks not exposed to the traditional religions such as Christianity or Judaism so this activism fills that void? If they were, have they become disenchanted in that belief, opting for something more tangible such as land and/or animals?
I wonder if the increase in activists can be attributed to the fact that communicating is so much easier today. It is certain that activists have become and are experts at messaging. Their choice of mediums is the Internet. Today’s rapidly changing Web environment provides the opportunity for advocacy groups to utilize new creativity with new forms of communication. One click of a mouse button can publish thoughts, photos, ideas, movies and more. Social networking utilizes text messaging, Internet blogs and individual Web sites. I read recently that 70 percent of 15- to 34-year-olds utilize social networks all hours of the day to fulfill a diverse set of needs. I can remember when social networking was a well-planned, friendly get-together used for, well, socializing … Oh, never mind!
Maybe activists are simply caught up in the latest fad. If it is a fad then it should fade like mullets, beehive hairdos or Dippity Do, right? (By the way, if you are chuckling, then you are guilty!) But I don’t think the activist momentum will diminish any time soon. Rather, it seems to be building and gaining popularity, so much so that activists are viewed as experts. In many instances their messages are given credibility because they have chosen a good name for their organization. For example, take the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Let’s face it, physicians are generally trustworthy, and who could be opposed to responsible medicine, right? However, PCRM is a masquerading animal rights activist group with operational, financial and even foundational ties to the radicals at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Less than 5 percent of their members are physicians. PCRM’s true motive is to promote extreme diets based on their animal rights agenda, not wisdom.
What is most discouraging to me in this whole context is the committed and dedicated devotion that is misguided and wasted on a temporary interest. I wonder what the framers of our great constitution – all agriculturists with a deep sense of God and country – would think about where freedom of religion has led today! I imagine they might call all this activism something besides religion. Y Michael Kelsey is NC’s executive vice president. |