“Jesus said, ‘Let one who seeks not stop seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will be troubled. When he is troubled, he will be astonished and will rule over all.'” — Saying 2, The Gospel of Thomas (as translated in Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels.)

“Woke-ism” deserves much of the scorn and disdain it receives, as it is currently practiced in United States of Vespucci. It is practiced by outraged politically left-wing commentators, drenched in self-righteousness and hypocrisy. They undermine themselves in debate with equally self-righteous and hypocritical right-wing commentators, because they are either play-acting themselves or don’t see how they are being played by the seasoned debater. It is easy to understand the roots of Woke-ism, and how it arose from an awareness by unpracticed, political novices on gaining knowledge of historical and modern-day injustices.

The cultural hegemony of Western Civilization is based on preferential treatment for and concentration of power and wealth with white, middle-aged heterosexual cis-gendered males (the patriarchy, for short.) Who hasn’t been upset on learning the things that they were led to believe were true all their lives turned out to be not true at all and were instead self-serving fabrications? To give a simplistic example, think of someone who was presented with evidence (especially from their own personal experience by looking through a telescope) that the world is a globe that orbits a star among billions of stars in a galaxy surrounded by billions of galaxies. It’s not a nice feeling to go from the “Centre of the Universe” to an exponentially minuscule blob of matter. The human mind requires certainty and self-importance, and being presented with proof to the contrary is very disconcerting. It gets worse on discovering that our much-prized “free will” is a necessary illusion; it instantly vaporizes your very foundations of “self” when we see through the veil.

Having said that, the Anti-Woke are on the opposite side of the same coin: they require injustice to maintain power, and in so doing will conceal or suppress all evidence that threatens the Lights of knowledge and self-reflection being shone on their Darkness (injustices and their illegitimate sources of power.) With this post, I wish to re-claim Woke-ism as a battle for justice and Light, and to share how our rage should be focussed on enacting real change to undermine the injustices and Darkness that currently defines the cultural hegemony, and not just performative outrage.

Let’s quickly define some terminology: “leftist” politics are based on egalitarianism (equal rights for all before the law), libertarianism (freedom of thought and movement) and solidarity (inclusiveness), and “rightist” politics are based on birth-right hierarchy, un-earned entitlement, social/material control and exclusivity. Indeed “left” and “right” come from anti-monarchists sitting to the left of the King in the French Assembly, and the loyalists to the right of the King. Not much has changed since the French Revolution in that respect. Liberals (progressives) tend towards the policies of socialism (shared resources and widespread private ownership) while Conservatives (reactionaries) tend towards policies of oligarchies (restrictive private ownership for a select few.) Generally speaking, leftists promote a flattened, flexible social structure and rightists promote a rigid hierarchy that concentrates wealth and power with a few at the top. The cultural hegemony is the system of power that controls and guides a civilization; it is apolitical in the sense that it is only interested in maintaining it’s power and influence in whatever form it takes. The cultural hegemony can change as the power structures within it change. A common-knowledge historical example would be the Roman Empire’s adoption of Christianity. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

To demonstrate this dynamic of the debates between right and left, let’s turn to one right-wing commentator whose strategy was to disempower the formation of Woke ideology among young adults on campuses of colleges and universities. I will call him “Captain Smirk” and his movement, “Make Vespucci Dominated by White Heterosexual Cis-gendered Middle-Aged Males Again” (MVDWHCMMA) or “Make Vespucci Patriarchal Again” (MVPA) for short. I never paid much attention to Captain Smirk and his opinionating, because his tactics were blatantly transparent: he would be absolutely certain about his opinion and display complete confidence in its supporting evidence, whether he knew it to be weak or false. His bold opinions lacked nuance and thoughtfulness.

In a debate, he would physically control its configuration so that the opposing opinion is presented by sputtering straw men who could be easily struck down and steam-rolled. He would set up these “debates” so that speakers would be forced to compete with each other for attention instead of giving each of them time to present their opinion and ask their questions. These clown shows were basically set up for entertainment purposes rather than for thoughtful, measured debate; they were the antithesis to “pillow talk”. The debaters would not be able to mutually acknowledge that each side had something to offer, and the truth of the matter could not be left unresolved or somewhere in the middle of opposite sides of the conversation. There was little room for a third opinion: both sides are wrong.

Captain Smirk was extremely well practiced and consistent in responding to opposing opinions and expressing his own, and he was never going to concede defeat. Indeed it wasn’t a conversation at all: it was a whack-a-mole of smashing down young speakers who were just starting to form their opinions of the world with the new knowledge that they were just becoming aware of. In a way, Captain Smirk and MVDWHCMMA were instigating their own reactionary Cultural Revolution that consolidates the cultural hegemony as it was before Woke-ism started to significantly influence it. The utter contempt for DEI (Diversity Equality Inclusion), Affirmative Action and Critical Race Theory was obvious and these polices were dismissed out of hand as “undebateable” by not even trying to understand them. The logical next step of this strategy with Captain Smirk’s successor (his wife, who is naturally out for vengeance) is to foment the student body to mercilessly and violently persecuting teachers and professors. I will offer the Chinese Cultural Revolution as a historical “How-To” manual to achieve the aims of MVDWHCMMA to Mrs. Captain Smirk.

Coming back to the point of this post, making your rage count is not done through screaming, brow-beating, vandalism, violence, abuse, threats, destruction, obstruction, and all the negative connotations of the word “rage”. These are all expressions of impotent, ineffective, uninspired rage (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 7) Making your rage count is about showing and sharing your Lights of knowledge and self-reflection in the following productive, impactful four ways.

Don’t allow yourself to pulled into a debate that you don’t have a strong opinion and/or have weak evidence to support it.

If a MVDWHCMMA supporter is expounding on a point that you don’t agree with, the temptation is to engage them with the same fierceness. The MVDWHCMMA speaker sure sounds 100% certain that abortion is absolutely wrong in all circumstances, but you have some reservations about instances that don’t feel right that a woman should be forced to continue the pregnancy and that the developing fetus is not a whole person. It’s enough to say, “I’m not sure, one way or the other, I don’t know enough about the topic.” If the MVDWHCMMA speaker is adamant about getting you to agree with their position, instead ask questions about their position to clarify their viewpoint. One hammer that is frequently slammed down on opposing arguments is the old saw, “no child is unwanted!” That’s fair to say this, because all decent people care for children… but are there enough decent people around to look after the children of negligent parents? That opens up a whole new can of worms about adoption practices, orphanages and foster care.

You aren’t required to offer your opinion, and if anything, their response to your questions will help sharpen your own opinion and explore the nuances of an informed opinion. Again, it’s not disrespectful to say when pressed with information that is unsupported with references or logic: “I don’t know about that.” It’s not up to you to defend their opinion, and you may be accused of being wishy-washy. It’s better to be unsure than completely wrong and dishonest with yourself, until you have more time and can ask more questions. You are not completely wrong in your own opinion, and it is better to be thoughtful about hot topics in the long run than reactionary with half-baked opinions.

Make sure you blame/shame those who deserve it and who are the actual cause of the injustices you see.

Avoid making a scapegoat out of these who don’t have the power to oppose or influence the cultural hegemony, and instead focus your criticism on the powerful individuals who control them or are pulling the strings behind the scenes. For example, MVDWHCMMA supporters are generally poor and ignorant; they were born into poverty and didn’t have many opportunities to improve their standing in life through gaining knowledge about how the world actually works; indeed, they are victims themselves of the injustices and Darkness imposed on them. They see others enjoying success from (surprise!) a system of meritocracy that was undermining the old patriarchal cultural hegemony structures. Non-white, non-heterosexual, non-cis-gendered, non-middle-aged, non-male people were living out their lives without the tyranny of the needs for food and shelter hanging over them by getting a good education and using their skills to find employment without prejudice, and proving themselves to be competent and productive in their jobs.

If you were led to believe in the old structures of preferential treatment for white heterosexual cis-gendered middle-aged males, it was very upsetting to see a meritocracy in action and you would cling to any feelings of persecution to rationalize these bad feelings. They need to see the Lights of knowledge and self-reflection of what is truly going on, and not be hoodwinked by the Darkness of the Wizards of Oz that are fooling them. The curtain needs to be pulled back and our rage launched against the ultra-wealthy devils and their sycophant demons who do their bidding. This means rejecting the myth that the ultra-wealthy deserve their wealth. They aren’t wiser and smarter than the rest of the 99.99999% of us, they are just extremely lucky from birth and were thus entitled from a patriarchal system that put them on pedestals. They started the rat race less than a foot away from the finish line while the vast majority of us were still in the starting blocks. Call out these individuals by identifying their vulnerabilities to the world, and avoid calling out their misled supporters. Let them come to their own conclusions; it may take time, but they will have their own “let them eat cake” moment soon enough. Their support of elites and injustices of the system can be understood this way (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 28.)

Meet up with and hold healthy debates with like-minded individuals, who are seeking to learn more, and who do not tolerate injustice.

Be the like-minded apostles and early followers of Jesus who met among themselves to question the power structures of the Pharisees (organized religion), Judean Kings (local and state governments) and the Roman Empire (federal government) and to find your own Kingdom of Heaven amongst you. I was stretching a metaphor a bit there I know, and it sounds a bit Utopic, but this was how the The Beast (the Roman Empire) converted to Christianity (the fall of the Emperors a.k.a. Anti-Christs) and then finally the Empire eventually falling to regional self-rule by its subjects (Kingdom of Heaven). The Armageddon of the 21st Century is not some World War with billions killed and total destruction followed by a return of Jesus in blinding glory, but rather a quiet coming together of people who are kind to each other and who support each other to work together towards a common goal of making lives better for everyone, not some rat-race with pre-determined winners and losers (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 48 and 113.)

The tough thing about accomplishing this is that human nature compels us to be competitive and selfish; it’s hard to see beyond ourselves or to even make ourselves vulnerable to self-examination. Maybe we can find ways to contain our competitive and selfish natures; indeed, we may have already found ways to do this through entertainments like sports and gambling. The more you think about the Kingdom of Heaven, the more you see it is already here for many of us, but is constantly being eroded by the powers of Darkness that seek to divide us and impose misery on those who don’t deserve it for their own gain. The short of it is to not hide your Lights from others and to encourage others to share their Lights. By “Lights”, I mean positive behaviour that come through honesty, integrity and humility gained through self-reflection and the knowledge that you know accurately describes the world. Will bad people take advantage you? Of course they will, which is why your Lights must be protected and shared with like-minded people. But don’t hide your Lights for fear of losing them. (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 33.)

Seek knowledge within and without, evaluate it and share what you find to be true.

Empirical, evidence-based, logically deduced knowledge is the source of external Light. This external and internal sources of Light, we should not be trying to hide under a bushel. These little lights of mine, I’m going to make them shine! (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 24.) Seeking, evaluating and sharing knowledge is not the Captain Smirk way of brow-beating others with one person’s point of view; it is about letting people ask questions and come to their own conclusions. Be bystanders (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 42), or an impartial observer to the world around you. Don’t let people tell you what to see or explain the why’s and wherefore’s without your skepticism; see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 5).

I don’t expect you to follow my suggestions to “make your rage count”; they have worked for me and they have guided me when I’m confronted with injustices or someone screaming at me, demanding that I agree with them and to follow their program. I will never give up looking for the Lights within me and outside me, and won’t fool myself into thinking I have a final answer. I started this post with a quote from the Gospel of Thomas, but I’m consciously trying to avoid the New-Agey or mystical aspects of the Gnostic Gospels, because as an Agnostic I have yet to see compelling evidence of the supernatural. If the mind of God is unknowable, don’t start trying to describe it. The self-defined Truth presented by organized religion does not explain everything, and itself engages in every kind of moral relativism, filled with inconsistencies and contradictions.

So yeah, please don’t take me too literally or seriously, because I am after all, a exponentially minuscule blob of matter in the Universe just trying to make sense of itself. I do care about defending and promoting the Kingdom of Heaven by helping to make the world of the here and now a better place for everyone (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 96.)

Supporting Quotes from the Gospel of Thomas:

Saying 2: Jesus said, “Let one who seeks not stop seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will
be troubled. When he is troubled, he will be astonished and he will rule over the all.” — Not everything is as it seems, and once you learn the true nature of something, use it to your advantage.

Saying 5: Jesus said, “Recognize what is before your eyes, and the mysteries will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.” — Don’t take for granted or ignore the obvious; there may be more to it.

Saying 7: Jesus said, “Blessed is the lion that the human will eat, so that the lion becomes human. Cursed is the human that the lion will eat, and the lion will become human.” — Don’t let you base instincts and emotions supersede or overcome your intellect.

Saying 24: His disciples said to him, “Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it.” He said to them, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear! There is light within a person of light, and he lights up the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark.” — Find the goodness in your heart and wear it on your sleeve, otherwise your evil nature will take over.

Saying 28: Jesus said, “I took my stand in the midst of the world, and in the flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty. My soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty. But meanwhile they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, then they will repent.” — When you are surrounded by ignorance and delusion, you won’t be taken seriously, but what you have said and done will be remembered and appreciated later.

Saying 33: Jesus said, “What you will hear in your ear, in the other ear proclaim from your rooftops. For no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts it on a lampstand so that all who come and go will see its light.” — Don’t keep silent on what you know to be good and true. Share it with everyone.

Saying 42: Jesus said, “Become passersby.” — Be an impartial observer to what goes on around you and draw your own conclusions from what you personally experience and not on hearsay.

Saying 48: Jesus said, “If two make peace with each other in a single house, they will say to the
mountain, ‘Move from here!,’ and it will move.” — When a group of people can put their differences aside and work together, the impossible can be accomplished.

Saying 96: Jesus said, “The Kingdom of the Father is like a woman who took a little leaven, hid it in some dough, and made it into large loaves of bread. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!.” — Making the world a better place begins with good acts, no matter how small or quiet.

Saying 113: His disciples said to him, “When will the kingdom come?” Jesus said, “It will not come by watching for it. They will not say, ‘Look, it is here!’ or ‘Look, it is there!’ Rather, the Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, but people do not see it.” — A better world is not an unfathomable hereafter; it exists in the here and now if you let it.

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