You’re a Fundamentalist!
Whenever I see this word, fundamentalist, it is used in a negative way to describe someone who is strictly adherent to some worldview — often religious, ethical or moral in some way. I looked up the word and even the definition notes that a fundamentalist is usually a religious movement OR point of view. If the point of view is characterized by a return to fundamental principles and an adherence to those principles than that point of view is open to having this adjective attached to it.
My “realization” is that most of the people I’ve come across, read about, heard about, etc. are fundamentalists. I would venture to say that we are all fundamentalists.
Do you have a moral point of view? Are you religious at all? If so you could be a fundamentalist if you actually adhere to your point of view. Do you feel that death is bad when it is caused by someone else? Is that view what keeps you from killing people? Perhaps you’re something of a fundamentalist after all.
It is actually pretty easy to build up a short list of fundamental beliefs typically held by Americanized people. There’s the death thing, the equality thing, the inalienable rights hang-up, the notion that it is permissable to express ourselves however we’d like without fear of anything — save social consequences. The list can go on… hopefully, you’ve already thought of a number of the things that I’ve left out. Those are just the views. Having views, opinions or whatever doesn’t cut it for being a fundamentalist though. You also have to adhere and expect adherence to those views. Without adherence or the expectation thereof you become less fundamentalist and more hypocritical — another word which might fit you (or me) — if you have views to which you have not or can not adhere.
My feeling on this is that we are all a bit fundamentalist a bit hypocritical and some of us might even claim to have no views, but those people probably have the view that having a view is inferior to having no view. Hypocrits!
…So maybe name calling or labeling should be fundamentally wrong or at least be seen by all that the labeler/critic is in no way superior to anyone else.
Posted by David under Uncategorized |