The Noble Lie

Sgt. Jarhead has an excellent post up. Go read. All of it. There will be a pop quiz…

 

That post explains exactly my own “evolution” in thought over the last four years. And now, I am out of the cave. Still blinking against the sunlight just a bit, but I am out of the cave. Many others are leaving the cave as well, but just as many and more have recoiled from the light and ran back into the cave. Even the mere thought of the unfamiliar is too much to bear, and comfortable servitude is preferred.

At the very first, the light was blinding. I was confused. Still clinging to what I had known with one hand (rather, what I had known still clutched at me), I groped about in an attempt to discover what dwelt in this new, unknown realm.

Slowly my eyes became somewhat accustomed to the light, but I was uneasy. I sought comfort among those who stood around me, squinting and blinking as well, quite unsure of what it was they saw. Clustered together in small groups we did, as a means to cope with the burning, blinding light that enveloped us as we left the cave behind. More and more began to come into focus, and many were frightened by what they saw. Myself included. The little groups began to grow as more people emerged from the cave, and they began to take on forms not unlike what they had known their whole lives in the cave. They began to name themselves; names like Oath Keepers, III Percenters, Patriots… They all stood dumbfounded by what they saw, yet unwilling to let go of the safety they had known in the cave.

Familiarity breeds contempt…

These groups became very familiar indeed; so much so, that many among their membership either donned sunglasses against the light- allowing a little in, yet providing a comfortable veil of the cave’s darkness- or followed their new found “leaders” right back into the cave. But a few, a very few, parted company with these support groups and ventured further still into the light. Their eyes having become ever more accustomed to it, they began to see what really existed out there. And then they began to see through it. Forging onward, they discovered the Noble Lie. Furthermore, they began to question it. Having learned to focus the light, they then learned the Lie’s true meaning and purpose.

But in focusing the light, it shone on many things that did not want to be seen, and on those who did not want to see. This causes great discomfort to those who prefer the cool darkness, and especially so to those who have known only the cave. They retaliate against those who disturb their comfort, shining bright lights about and causing great pain in their eyes. But to those who’ve ventured into the warm rays, it is only natural to desire his fellow man come into it as well. For once the eyes adjust, and the pain subsides, there is a world of great beauty to behold, and untold knowledge there for the taking. And therein we find the Purpose of the Noble Lie.

There are those who are afraid, deathly afraid of what lies beyond the cave; and so they’ve done all that is within their power to imprison those around them within it’s depths. They created the Noble Lie, which is a long series of lies, to keep their fellow man ignorant and subservient within the cave. Naturally, they have taught their prisoners that the flashes of light they see from time to time are something to be feared, and so the people have come to believe it. Just as naturally, the Fearful Ones do their best to extinguish the lights, and maintain the cave’s gloom. You see, thinking themselves Wise, and therefore Responsible for those whom they feel less qualified to attend their own needs, they created the Noble Lie. But there’s an ever more insidious undercurrent which has evolved since. The Fearful Ones quickly discovered that great wealth could be extracted from those held prisoner in the cave, and so the Noble Lie has evolved. There are a few people, who from behind their sunglasses have taken notice of this, and embraced the scheme, with a twist.

Their twist is intended to loosen their own chains, just a bit, while keeping within the safety of the cave. And like the Fearful Ones, they have created a Noble Lie of their own. Rather, they have resurrected an old one, and use it as a rallying cry to draw in those who would support them. And much like the Fearful Ones, they will do all within their power to extinguish the lights shone upon them, for they don’t want to be seen. Much less to be seen through.

Open your eyes. Step into the light. And lose the sunglasses…