Fear- Not a Science, Unquestionably a Method

Allow me to completely rip off Camus. I will get to HIS point after a brief introduction.

Having always hand-selected who it is that I learn from, Camus, since early childhood, has been my only hope in honesty and passion for humankind when putting words and thoughts to the page.

Forward thinking and often indisputable solutions behind every stance, every word chosen, all from the heart, and powerfully clear. The opposition toward those he did not respect is delivered with such diplomacy.

The near perfection of his communication, generously given free of ego for us to learn from is something I admire greatly. Strength and conviction, with such clarity and passion moves me, propels me to quietly assist, as I do not possess his talent for conveying my notions.

Without further adieu, I give you Camus, never surface.

Some of what he presented in the underground newspaper COMBAT during the 1940's:

POLITICS

Replacing politics with morality-not moralism.

Open dialogue, a yes and no as simultaneous answers to all questions - saying both answers with "the same seriousness and the same objectivity" which leaves space for questioning, doubt, and critical judgement.


FEAR - A POLITICAL METHOD - HOW SO >>

Quick note: I feel it is important that all of us understand why we are in fact always spouting that we live in fear, that the papers are made to print spoon-fed news and topics, and that there is no real journalism due to advertisers and so on. I give Camus the credit for being the first to recognize this concept of fear as a method in politics long before we could merely repeat it.

To take his thoughts in a condensed form and not take any credit for this level of brilliance, I sum it up this way:

After the Nazi's were gone the oppression, torture, deportation, and mass murder were painful memories of the very recent past for Camus when he determined November 19, 1946 that it was "The Century of Fear."

He saw first hand, so unfortunately for a man with this type of compassion, that the reign of terror continued and that the method served a political purpose. Terror silences the opposition. Two sides presented in black and white, freedom or enslavement, justice and injustice, ultimately people are forced to choose between "Good" & "Evil" which prevents all dialogue.

Fear was presented as more insidious postwar by Camus and this was due to it spreading across the political spectrum.

To quote, terror thrives in "a world of abstraction, a world of bureaucracy and machinery, of absolute ideas and of messianism without subtlety...among people who believe they are absolutely right."

DESCRIBING DEMOCRACY

He describes democracy as an exercise in modesty. To be just, always.

To know that freedoms set in place do not exist and can be reversed, and that injustices can increase at any given moment, especially when there exists a person that cannot be persuaded.

JUSTICE

He discusses the failure of the free press. That justice was never served as opportunistic and ideologically committed collaborationist journalists and intellectuals, along with important as well as insignificant officials were never dealt with for crimes we know are of the worst kind, and admitted back into society. This was not the Liberation of France he could see well. Victims paid an absolute price for resisting tyranny and the criminals being pardoned would not reunite France, but further divide everyone. Justice.

POWER OF WORDS & POLITICAL JOURNALISM

Camus defended the power of words, of responsible political journalism which plays a crucial role in resisting the conspiracy to silence us, to make us choose between only two sides presented, and so swiftly.

Importantly and humbly he described journalists as historians of the moment with a demanding job which entails pointing out the limitations of ideas and political actions. This translates directly into one having to be aware of their own limitations, thus having to adhere to a few basic principles. Easier said than done, a journalist may cross the very boundary of morality and moralism. Morality can easily be degenerated into moralism due to the fatigue or negligence of the writer reporting the news.

Quick Note: I personally find taking responsibility for one's position a form of care that few acknowledge or respect, and instead only enjoy the attention such a position brings. Admirably, it was Camus' greatest strength in my opinion.

You can sense that he wanted more, a greater life, one in which we see each-other, connect, grow, and do nothing other than...all we can, for everyone.

SOCIAL BEINGS MUST WORK TOGETHER

I do admire that he incorporated passion, and in the truest sense of this word. His passion for the human race can be seen, with too many instances to begin here now, through a simple mentioning that we cannot live without dialogue and the friendship of other human beings. That we should not be delivered entirely into the hands of history, and to persuade and confront the beauty of the world and people's faces. : : Angie Seegers : :