Abandonment Syndrome

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Western societies are suffering from a form of Abandonment Syndrome. It is not the kind of abandonment that occurs when one fears the loss of a loved one. Although not entirely dissimilar, it is the type of sensation one gets when they willfully abandon the love of reason. This condition appears to have started with George W. Bush in 2008. On the heels of the housing crash, number 43 uttered the following statement:

"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system." (see Reason Article here)

Although that pronouncement raised a few eyebrows, mostly in capitalist loving circles, it was passed off in the media as economic wisdom. And why not? In the halcyon days prior to the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) event known as the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, "free market capitalists" were drunk on artificially low (and politically) driven interest rates and energy costs. Why would the quasi-capitalists want to upset the apple cart while bellying up to the bar of a politically motivated Federal Reserve?

Talk about other abandonments. Shortly thereafter in 2010, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi said we must abandon transparency in the health care legislation before we could know what is in it. Specifically, she said, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." And with that, Abandonment Syndrome was off and running.

In 2013, Candace Chellew-Hodge wrote in salon magazine, "Christians should abandon Christianity." In her article, she made the case that modern churches are merely new forms of idle worship. Although I do not necessarily disagree with her premise in the article, the title of her article posits that Christian values, as manifest in our churches and not the misguided church’s themselves, are the problem. Christians should indeed practice Christianity despite their church’s propensity for idol worship. In a sense, Ms. Chellew-Hodge is saying that we must abandon Christian principles order to practice good Christianity.

Lest any think that my critique of “Christians abandoning Christianity” as a recipe for becoming a good Christian is overblown, I show you where this argument naturally unfolds. UCC pastor Adan Ericksen, in 2021, wrote in Raven, "Why This Pastor Supports Satanists." In his article, he reports on satanist’s values as not being dissimilar to his “Christian” world view:

Other Satanists began commenting, too, saying, ‘We share similar values of justice and compassion for all people.’ Another posted, ‘What Christians don’t understand is that we Satanists don’t worship Satan. We see the character of Satan as motivation to rebel against oppressive power structures.’

I hope I am not the only one who sees a Christian pastor embracing satin as the ultimate symbol of overcoming oppressive power structures antithetical to Christianity. Is not the Namesake of Christianity Himself, the greatest symbol of overcoming oppressive power structures? For those of us the follow pop culture to logical conclusions, this is precisely what happens when Christians abandon Christianity.

Another example of Abandonment Syndrome is found in Ibram X. Kendi's 2019 book, How to be an Antiracist.  In his book, he stated, “The only remedy to discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” According to Kendi, we must abandon equality and discriminate to end discrimination. This is Abandonment Syndrome as a philosophical means with no end.

Finally, consider the comments by Janet Yellen, then Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Speaking at the World Affairs Council in Philadelphia in 2016. Yellen reiterated her belief that economic growth is the source of rising prices. Despite historical free markets proving exactly the opposite. As John Tammy points out in his Forbes article, On The Subject Of Inflation, Janet Yellen Always Brings The Comedy:

The first ball-point pen cost over $12, the first mobile phone nearly $4,000, while the first IBM mainframe computer set a buyer back over $1 million.  The economic growth part is when competitors come in with new and better production techniques with an eye on competing away the profits and margins enjoyed by the intrepid first entrant into any market.  Stated very simply, if an economy is growing then prices as a rule are falling.

Janet Yellen beliefs dovetail perfectly with George W. Bush’s earlier statement on abandoning free markets to save free markets and the ill-guided concept has now come full circle. We should all sleep better at night with the knowledge that person suffering from full-blown Abandonment Syndrome is now the head of the snake as Secretary of the Treasury for these United States.

With all the above examples, we are instructed by leaders that we must perform some version of evil to prevent evilness. We have now entered a post- reason era. It was the Western world's emerging from the late dark ages into the “age of enlightenment” the propelled our great nation to first declare its independence and subsequently win the right to move humankind in a new direction. That new direction came from an appreciation of Judeo - Christian values that stem from a “covenant” relationship with God. Our founders studied history, and through reason, understanding, and a healthy fear of God, put forth a Constitution that secured “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for all her citizens.

Western societies woke leadership would now have us abandon reason when making “reasonable” arguments. With that kind of nonsensical thinking, I have no retort. For what would be the point? When a society is awash in political relativity, the answer to today’s policy problems lies not in any universally accepted morality, not in any proven historical context and certainly not in any Deistic covenant with the Almighty. Relativistic hedonism requires only that policy decisions feel good. Ergo, any logical rebuff necessarily labels the responder as an oppressor and sanctifies the policy maker as a victim (oppressed.)  Whenever we stumble upon the oppressor vs. oppressed scenario, its purpose is clear, and its origins lead back to the one who channeled Lucifer whilst penning his Manifesto in 1848. Which leads me to the following riddle:

What is black or white, and red all over?

A Marxist editing the Ten Commandments with the blood-stained pen of a post-rationalist.

It was no mere accident that Dante, in his Devine Comedy, scribed, “Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here” over the gates of Hell. He foresaw the coming Abandonment Syndrome that would plague a retched society that dares forsake ten simple rules in favor of a complex disorder the places individual feelings at the pinnacle of modern philosophical thought.