Suppression breeds reformation (and sometimes revolution)

I believe that, as a species, human beings have evolved with natural impulses that require sufficient avenues for expression. I also believe that, when it comes to human affairs, we often frustrate ourselves with vain attempts to suppress or eradicate our intrinsic impulses and primal instincts.

However, it seems to me that if these hard-wired impulses are left unchecked without a system of accountability or the expectation of responsibility, then anarchic and chaotic impulses are likely to emerge with the potential to tear our civilization apart. But on the other hand, if these impulses are ineradicable and are then aggressively suppressed without sufficient avenues for creative and healthy expression, it is likely that these same impulses will eventually assume more destructive and detrimental forms of expression.

Both tactics (anarchy and suppression) would seem to lead to similar and undesirable ends.

This is why I think that the antitheists will ultimately fail in their attempts to rid society of its need for religion. I am of the opinion that, despite their more harmful and extremist manifestations, humankind’s various religious traditions have offered much to meet the intrinsic human need for solace, hope, purpose and meaning. It seems to me that those who seek to bring about change in this realm must take into serious consideration creative and constructive ways to address or satisfy this innate human need, or else they will continue to be met with the fiercest resistance.

Likewise, I expect that those puritanical attempts to eradicate the influence of Enlightenment values (individual freedom, democracy, higher criticism, scientific investigation, etc.) will also prove unsuccessful. I am of the opinion that humankind’s ever-developing tradition of critical inquiry and investigation has yielded many benefits and has led to unprecedented progress in a variety of scientific fields. This tradition seems to reflect the intense power of curiosity, the defining impulse of humanity whose strength is attested to by countless examples of ancient folklore and religious myth. Those who seek to bring about change in this realm must take into serious consideration the notion that human curiosity about the nature of reality is not going anywhere and has already witnessed too much to retreat back into a state of blissful unawareness and uncritical obedience to an indisputable authority- be it religious or political.

But sadly, humanity as a whole has yet to learn from history's failed attempts at suppression, as many who find themselves in positions of power and influence continue to pursue ways to deny human beings the means to think, live and express themselves in healthy, creative and responsible ways.

In conclusion, I think human history would testify to the idea that those attempts to actively suppress intrinsic human impulses only serve to speed along radical responses to such suppression. Because of this, I maintain confidence that wherever one finds suppression, one will find the seeds of a new reformation- if not a revolution.