We have a culture of monist idealism in a reality torn between desire and judgement.
As individuals we are the emotions compelling us on, while the mind has to sort among them. We can't have our cake and eat it too.
As society, we are the raw social energies driving it on, versus the need to make decisions as to what is to be encouraged and what is to be discouraged. Not every acorn can be an oak tree and if the society doesn't do some of the selection, nature does it for us. Cycles of expansion and consolidation. The energies of youth versus the lessons of age. Liberal and conservative.
The problem is that rather than recognizing this inherent yin and yang, we think it is the God Almighty, of some singular, unifying vision. The pot of gold at the end of the narrative arc.
The fallacy of monotheism is that a spiritual absolute would be that essence of sentience from which life rises, not an ideal of wisdom and judgement, from which it fell.
Yet ancient societies could not exist simply reveling in sentience and given our natural penchant for partying, it's not like it hasn't been tried. So there is this father figure lawgiver, to instill respect for authority and one's culture.
Yet conflating the ideal, which is aspirational, with the absolute, which is elemental, is politically incendiary. Every movement that comes along must live in the shadow of God and assume their ideals must be absolute. No questions, debates, nuance allowed, when ideals are at stake.
So each side of the cycle sees themselves on the one true path and those going the other way as misbegotten fools, if not actually evil.
Yes, youth does ultimately prevail over the old, but in doing so, they learn their own lessons, being winnowed down in the process and become The Man.
Those ultimately rising to the crest of the wave are those best able to control the crowd and the one true emotion which can do that, is fear. Thus the Robespierres, Stalins, Maos, Pol Pots.
Eventually this wave will also wash out to sea and those remaining will have learned a few more lessons, in the march of life.
Maybe that life is cyclical, not linear. That the world is round, not flat. "Go forth and multiply" has reached the edge of the petri dish.
