Postmodernism’s Yukky Fruit

 Back in the good ole days of Modernism, we dealt in absolutes. Scientific inquiry, evidence, and reasoning were the standards by which we determined what was true. And when we said “true,” we meant objectively, verifiably, demonstrably, absolutely TRUE, without question. 

As cultures are wont to do, that pendulum swung hard the other direction and gave us Postmodernism. A grain of truth - that no one is unbiased, and subjective experience always colors our understanding - grew to a harvest that now rejects absolutes and denies objective truth. In Postmodernism, truth is discerned by individual perception and “lived experience.”  

Truth is not a primary goal of Postmodernism.  Maybe not even a goal at all. To the Postmodernist, knowledge is plural. There’s no singular answer, only lived experiences that mean none of us has access to one singular Truth. In fact, to them, no singular Truth exists.  

Of course, the academics came along and codified it into Critical Theory, which questions if objectivity is possible or even desirable. According to Critical Theory, knowledge is socially constructed and entirely dependent on context and demographics. Their goal is not to resolve questions or conflicts with evidence-based truth; it is to disrupt and undermine established ways of thinking (like logic and reasoning). 

Enter Marxism. Marx viewed the world through one lens: oppression/oppressor in the economic realm. The original Critical Theorists were Marxists. They assert that the first step of change and revolution is criticism of the system itself. Make noise - create problems - emphasize the plight of the oppressed - and they expanded this lens to not only economics, but also race, gender, class, ethnicity, sexual preference, etc. 

So here we are:

    Objective, verifiable Truth is (at best) unknowable and probably doesn’t exist at all

    Knowledge hinges upon individual perception and lived experience (rather than evidence and reasoning)

    Truth is irrelevant; what matters is oppression and power

    The only way to resolve this is via conflict, dismantling systems of power that oppress

    The goal of conflict is not Truth (remember, that doesn’t exist), but the destruction of the systems of power that result in oppression            

Most unfortunately, this worldview leads us into a hot mess. 

No more Law of Non-Contradiction; your truth, my truth, and his truth can be utterly incompatible and simultaneously all be true. 

If you make a truth claim based on your personal perception, and I make a conflicting truth claim based on verifiable evidence, whose truth claim is correct? Oh, wait. “Correct” doesn’t matter. We’re both right. But that means we’re both wrong, too.

I am obligated to respect and affirm your truth. It doesn’t matter if it conflicts with mine, because all truths are contextual, and cannot be “wrong.” Therefore, no one can tell anyone else they are right or wrong. 

 

Boundaries

Caveat: there are legitimate reasons for firm, no-contact boundaries. I am not referring to these.

Boundaries have become a means by which someone presents a list of demands I have to meet in order for them to tolerate my presence. 

Used to be, we all knew certain things weren’t brought up for discussion in a group setting.  Politics and religion were laid aside at social gatherings because nobody wanted to create conflict. We just wanted to eat the Thanksgiving turkey and enjoy one another’s company. 

Politics was not our raison d’etre, and religious beliefs were respected as highly personal and sacrosanct. We didn’t walk around with political chips on our shoulders and swords in our hands, waiting to lop off some ears.

These were socially constructed boundaries, generally followed in the interests of respect and peace. Tacit agreements that, if Uncle Ted had too much wine and started transgressing, Grandma would shush him with another slice of pie and a deft change of subject. 

We weren’t faking peace; everybody knew Aunt Freda voted for Carter and Pop-Pop voted for Ford, but who wanted to hear them bickering over it?

It feels a lot different now. Social justice causes demand warriors who wear their movement like a sandwich board. It carries over into friendships and even family ties, where every conversation becomes charged with tension and triggers.

Look - if you don’t want your most precious beliefs to be trampled on, don’t strew your floor with them and then invite me over, daring me not to step on any of them. Put down the banners and let’s enjoy common ground.

We can be friends without agreeing on every little thing. We can love in spite of significant differences. 

Liberal, My Foot

liberal (adj): inclined to be open to ideas and ways of behaving that are not conventional or traditional; broad minded; tolerant

It just doesn’t describe them anymore.

The general group once referred to as “liberals” (politically speaking) have become the most close-minded, intolerant illiberals of all.

The DEI “tolerant” crowd tolerates no dissent, no diversity of thought.

Equity and inclusion are only for lockstep thinkers. 

Step one toe out of line and you’re toxic and must be excised.  

Cancel culture has created an entire wing of a political party that values homogeneity above all. 

The Order of Things

How it *should* be:

In our utter dependence as a child, we learn about authority, obedience, and the tender love of our parents as they are a living example of God the Father’s love for His children.

As we grow in wisdom, we start making our own decisions, rooted in faith and increasing maturity. Relationships with family and friends instruct us in kindness, forgiveness, charity, and mercy.

Eventually, we are blessed with a spouse. Different from any relationship prior, this covenant is made with God Himself at the center. Forsaking all others, we pledge ourselves to one another for life, bearing, believing, and hoping all things together. The lessons in perseverance, fidelity, and loyalty continue.

With that spouse, we bear the blessed fruit of our union: children.  Here, we come full circle. Once the child, now the parent. Once the dependent, now the source. The weight of responsibility is intense and drives us to our knees, asking for the guidance only God our Father can give.  

The family is a school, in which we learn how to be the adopted, beloved children of our heavenly Father through the example of godly parents and the experience of parenting our own children.  

It is no wonder that our Enemy’s assaults through the ages remain focused on destruction of the family, piece by piece, and as a whole.  

The View of Self

I notice that many on the left are quick to offer opinions, protests, critiques, and solutions to the Iranians and the Gazans and the immigrants in MN, while assuming that their own self is A-OK as is.  Follow your heart, they say, because it will never lead you astray.  

On the other hand, conservatives emphasize the importance of inner order - that is, character formation, spiritual maturity, and correct understanding of what is good, true, and right.

As a flawed sinner, the answers to my problems (and the world’s) aren’t in my heart. The Truth - eternal and unchanging - lies external to me! Before I can save the world, I better be in a properly ordered relationship with God, and have a proper view of myself.

So the conservative starts with the broken, sinful self.

Only when I am aligning my heart with God can I start ministering to what’s out there.  

“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” - Jesus

“Put the mask over your own face before helping your child.” - Flight Attendants Everywhere

The Three-Legged Stool

I'm certainly not the first to use this analogy, but here's my version:

Our western civilization relies upon the strength of 3 vital institutions to remain standing.  These institutions are (1) the Church, (2) the family, and (3) education.  There are, of course, other important influences.  I tend to see these three as the most vital, the most foundational to a functional and productive civilization.

Don't know about you, but when I look around at how much life has changed in recent years, I scratch my head and wonder what on earth has happened.  And it seems that the answer is most often found in the deterioration of one - or all - of the legs of my metaphorical stool.  

The Church is burdened with false teachers.  Too often, local congregations are an inch deep and a mile wide, favoring entertainment and feel-good, self-help messages over discipleship. 

The family, as God ordained it, is in deep trouble in America. Fathers have long been painted as bumbling doofuses by the entertainment industry. Under economic and social pressure, mothers are spread too thin keeping up with parenting, household, work, and personal obligations. The lives of our kids are radically different from our own upbringing, with influences and pressures we never even imagined.  

And finally, our system of education is utter wreckage, failing to instruct students in basic academics while inculcating them with progressive political and social ideologies instead.

It's no wonder the world looks so disturbingly different these days. 

We’re living in the upside-down.