There is always a human need to defy authority. We all
want to reject the personal domination that authority represents, so rebellion
is often supremely satisfying; it also exposes us to many important truths
about life and ourselves. When we look at every viewpoint and idea, we can
refine our own enlightened viewpoint, supported by many informed opinions.
Forbidden fruit truly can open our eyes!
Society's authority figures have always tried to suppress
learning and inquiry because they fear what people will discover. From the 16th
to 20th centuries, the Roman Catholic Church maintained its Index of Forbidden
Books, because it recognized that free thought and discussion posed a threat to
the authoritarian power it wielded over much of Europe and the Americas.
Indeed, the books on the list did benefit humanity by challenging the church's
power, first with Protestantism, then with the Enlightenment, leading to
capitalism, science, socialism, technology and secularism. Independence and
autonomy do benefit the vast majority of people!
We also don't learn anything of value when we fail to
question the assumptions and premises held by most people. The "tyranny of
the majority" is nowhere more visible than in the public exchange of ideas
and information. We become smartest and wisest when we think for ourselves; we
do this by questioning conventional wisdom, as well as dogmas promoted by
"authorities." The best way to think for ourselves is to use our
reasoning abilities and always to remain curious and inquisitive. That is why
the "inquisitive" hobbits of the Shire were the most successful
halflings in Tolkien's Middle Earth.
Radical and forbidden books also cover topics that everyone
thinks about, but can't discuss with anyone. They truly can be our guilty
pleasures that we enjoy after a long day! Everything in life is a game; we all
want to learn the rules of the game, but we aren't allowed to mention the
game's existence, so we must rely on hidden sources of information. Some are
better than others at playing life's games; in fact, some play it too well! You
all have met life's "players."
The Sociopath Next Door (2005) by Dr. Martha Stout of
Harvard Medical School explores the darkest side of these games and the very
darkest characters who play them. Dr. Stout shows us that many in our midst are
sociopaths - they have Anti-Social Personality Disorder, a permanent lack of
conscience and normal, healthy human emotions. She discusses how these
individuals cause a great deal of suffering in our lives, but can often be
avoided if we can identify them. We all have sociopaths present in our lives to
some degree (i.e. abusive boyfriends, scam artists, nightmare bosses, etc.).
Unfortunately, they also tend to dominate every society known to man.
Stout
argues that Anti-Social Personality Disorder is entirely genetic and that
sociopaths are born that way. I tend to disagree, in that I think violent
sociopaths are influenced by genetic, as well as environmental factors, such as
childhood abuse, substance abuse issues, etc. Psychology is a new science and,
while her study of sociopathy is enlightening, her treatment of the disorder
may be too simplistic and generalized. She is right, however, in relating how
we all have people in our lives whom we'd rather avoid, who scare us by their
very presence, and who violate the rights of everyone around them.
Real social change is impossible if people don't think
independently, and critical thinking isn't enough. One needs to delve into the
details of their new findings: social media posts alone can't be used to form
opinions as readers need to dig deeper and find the facts behind the news
stories or postings. This will make an individual less vulnerable to bad
information. A person's life lesson should be merely an introduction to their
new area of expertise; it should work like Wikipedia does when it steers us to
more reputable online sources. A rational, skeptical mind, armed with lots of
information, makes us confidently powerful in a way that helps people we care
about.
We obviously won't agree with everything that we read,
but these points of disagreement will only sharpen our well-informed opinions.
Other obscure works will just have entertainment value. For example, I detest
Charles Manson and his murderous activities, but his biography kept my
attention. It contained sex, murder, drugs, music, unique subcultures and
radical ideas; what other else could you want! We definitely need to feed the dark
side of our collective psyche.
It's always fun to read about the bad people of history
because we defiantly indulge our deepest, darkest fantasies. In my experience,
people who avoid fantasy and other creative entertainments often indulge any
sadistic urges by lashing out at the other people in their lives. Boring,
judgmental individuals tend to treat others the worst. As Miley Cyrus said,
"people who are too nice are secretly psycho." By seeing how badly
off-track people can become, we gain the will and insight to reign in our own
vices and shortcomings.
Jeff Guinn meets this common need with his biography of
Charles Manson. In Manson:
The Life and Times of Charles Manson (2013), he presents a gripping,
comprehensive biography of a diabolical mass killer who haunted the American
psyche at a tumultuous time in history, and who continues to captivate the
public imagination. Everyone loves to learn more about Charles Manson, whether
it's online, on TV or in a book! His story was worthy of any soap opera or
tabloid, as it contained orgiastic sex, gruesome violence, radical thought and
contemporary politics.
Human animals are sexual beings, so we had best find
media that explore this part of everyday life. Most of us consume such material
from a variety of media types. However, sex in print form is often as erotic as
glamour photographs and adult videos; sexy stories tie raw human emotions to
realistic sex acts. Sometimes, these sexual situations are actually taken from
real life, in the case of autobiographical works. This is most exciting and
titillating for me, especially when it comes to hippies or other Bohemian
groups.
Memoirs of a Beatnik explored this sexual reality when
it was written in 1969 by Diane diPrima, a long-time bohemian and former member
of the Beat Generation. di Prima wrote an X-rated account of her life as part
of the Beat Generation, at the movement's greatest extent in the early-to-mid
1950s. I first read the sex scenes from the book, indulging my lust when I was
17, at Dreamscape Comics. I loved the raunchy eroticism of it.
More
recently, I spotted the book at the Bethlehem library and re-read it, focusing
more on elements of Beat culture contained in the story. It augmented my body
of knowledge about the Beat Generation. Diane di Prima is still alive and in
her 80s. She has written numerous books since Memoirs and taught in the college
setting throughout the years. Her daughter, Dominique di Prima, is a radio star
and activist for African-American issues in the Los Angeles area.
We on the left approach radical texts with a discerning,
skeptical mind, in contrast with right-wingers who believe their reactionary
reads word for word, as they prepare to convert the world to their dogmas. This
is why true progressives rarely carry out acts of violence; we think things
through and approach each passage of a radical book with a critical and
skeptical mind. For example, I could read Mein Kampf and not be tempted
to join a neo-Nazi group.
One such book that is a favorite of mine is Fugitive Days by Bill Ayers. It is a 2001 book in
which Former 60's radical Bill Ayers discusses his activities as a leader of
The Weather Underground, a revolutionary group that was part of the New Left of
the 1960s and 70s. Despite being a man who committed some heinous acts, he is
very intelligent and empathetic. Ayers is a great thinker who has some
wonderful ideas for human society. He went on to revolutionize the field of
education and eventually become a notable expert on the subject. Even the guilt
of his past criminal acts was mitigated by the intense societal conflict of the
period, caused by bad leadership and many pre-existing prejudices in American
society. People are complicated, and a person's one very bad deed may be offset
by a number of good deeds, along with a general desire for good.
Every viewpoint needs to be heard, especially if it is
from a person marginalized by mainstream society. Such a person often has a
wealth of wisdom gained by having the courage to stand up for themselves and their
identity. People excluded from mainstream society best understand how society
operates, because they are on the outside looking in, having a bird's eye view.
Advanced wisdom and understanding of society, for example, help to explain the
contributions of African-Americans to American music, from jazz to hard rock.
In conclusion, we all enjoy reading obscure works that
arouse opposition and make us think. We learn a great deal about ourselves and
the world around us. This newfound knowledge will help us to better play any
game that is part of our lives. Finally, when we can use new thinking to
benefit ourselves, we put ourselves in a better position to help others and
transform our world into a more progressive, loving and tolerable place.
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