There is no better evidence of the limits of the human mind than its dependence upon ideology. Ideology is any one of those belief systems we rely upon to explain the milieu in which we happen to find ourselves. Several ideologies familiar to most are Capitalism, Communism, Conservatism, Democracy, Jihadism, and Liberalism. There are many more. Some say that the various religions are ideologies; others say that ideologies are really religions. Arguments can be found to support either view, or any view.
            The various ideologies, both those currently in vogue and those which have been discredited and discarded, are logic-tight systems. That is, they are incompatible with one another. If any one of these systems is a true and faithful representation of the nature of human existence, then others must be false. It is, however, the very nature of ideologies to demonstrate that they are true.
            Despite the impossibility of knowing that any one of the competing ideologies is true, humans, for some reason, seem dependent on them, regularly subscribe to one of them, and treat it as being the one true explanation of human experience.
            This, of course, brings the adherents of one ideology into disagreement with the adherents of other ideologies. Despite these disagreements, it sometimes happens that adherents of one ideology will make common cause with the adherents of another. However, over time, these alliances usually break apart because of inherent logical incompatibilities.
            No one seems to know why the human mind is dependent upon ideology. The answer to this question is, itself, the subject of ideological dispute. Likewise, the reason why one person subscribes to one ideology while another person subscribes to another is a subject of ideological dispute.
            Ideological dispute causes acrimony. We are incapable, except under extreme circumstances, of recognizing any shortcomings in the ideology to which we subscribe. Likewise, each of us is incapable, except under extreme conditions, of surrendering the acrimony that he or she believes is justly directed toward the adherents of other ideologies. The extreme condition is usually some highly intense impracticality or discomfort such as war, genocide, or economic collapse which causes us to temporarily see a shortcoming in ideological conflict. Such periods of insight are brief, and the causes of the precipitating disaster soon become the subject of ideological conflict.
            Histories of these conflicts, and their resolutions, are constantly being rewritten in an effort to demonstrate that one or another of the existing ideologies offers the one true explanation of what happened. Histories of this kind are, therefore, seen as unreliable or reliable depending on the ideology subscribed to by the reader.
            Most efforts to abandon ideology and to focus on the joy of living and on simple human values will fail. The concepts of “joy of living” and “simple human values” are too vague to be grasped and are themselves taken to be an ideology. As an ideology they become subjected to refined ideological definition. What constitutes “the joy of living” or “simple human values” becomes a topic of ideological debate and, therefore, of acrimony. The ideological debate and acrimony cancels any possibility of “joy of living” unless acrimonious ideological debate is thought of as the prime element of “joy of living.”
            Our malleable minds will always be plagued with this problem; although, whether it is a problem is also subject to ideological dispute. The intensity of ideological acrimony increases in proportion to the spread of instantaneous mass communication via tools such as radio, television, the Internet, including blogs, Facebook, U-tube, electronic “news” sources, twitter, texting, and others as yet unknown. The acrimony will increase at an accelerated rate as these means of communication are concentrated in the hands of ideologues. The world is sinking into an electronically induced, ideological dystopia.
            We have tethered ourselves, or been ensnared, in ever increasing numbers, to the electronic media, from which pours forth ever more strident forms of ideology. Many live in a comforting ideological haze in which one’s beliefs are constantly reaffirmed and one’s opponents, real or imagined, are easily made to look foolish, immoral, and demonic.
            In its formative years, the ideology of Democracy was tied to the ideology of Tolerance. This seemed reasonable at the time because the masses of people were weary of widespread ideological war and devastation. As ideology has evolved, Tolerance is seen by ideological purists as compromise and surrender. There is something in the human mind that fears the Other, that which is different from itself. It is here that ideological animosity takes root and becomes intractable. Conversions by means of persuasion are not unheard of but nearly always result in the convert’s moving from one ideology to another and becoming more fervent than before.
            Hope, and there is hope, is found in the world of Joy of Living which runs quixotically parallel with the world of ideology. There is great joy in human association, and sometimes human beings, serendipitously, come to see the good in those who believe differently than they do. Breakthroughs occur. 

By Dennis Beard

Dennis Beard spends his days reading fiction, writing stories, and trying to keep his wife's computerized embroidery machine running. The reading these days is mostly 19th century Russian novels. The writing includes essays such as An Ideological Lamentation.

He thinks stories ought to reflect the unpredictability of life, both the serendipitous and the maddening. Unexpected things happen, and people respond in ways surprising to themselves. The joyful, the melancholy, the placid, the chaotic, love, and animosity are part of living ─ he tries to reflect all of these in his stories.

Dennis was raised in central Illinois, but has lived most of his life in and around Chicago. He has been published in The Journal (a Northwestern University publication), Further Persons Imperfect (an anthology), Shotgun Sports Magazine, and Quilters Newsletter Magazine. His e-mail address: Dennis Beard