Faith

Even though the United States has by far the world's most significant military power and even though they received help from several other countries, the Taliban became an overpowering opponent. The Taliban have pretty much nothing but their faith. Faith can move mountains. Doubt, on the other hand, makes us insecure and neurotic.

Belonging without believing or believing without belonging

Some people call themselves Christians, but they refuse to turn the other cheek, and they prefer to store up for themselves treasures on earth - in tax havens.

Democracy

In the 2020 US presidential election, 74 million Americans voted for Trump, and 81 million voted for Biden. 79 million did not bother to vote. For them, it didn't matter who became president. It would make no difference to them and their life situation. And many of those who voted for Biden were very negative about him, but they felt that the alternative was even worse. Many would rather have voted for Bernie Sanders.

In the second round, in the last French presidential election, 18.8 million French voted for Macron, 13.3 million voted for Marine LePen, and 13.6 million did not vote. 2.2 million voted blankly. And many of those who voted for Macron resented him deeply and voted for him solely to prevent LePen from coming to power.

When Italians went to the polls last year, 7.3 million voted for Giorgia Meloni. 16.6 million did not bother to vote.

I have also stopped voting. I don't care anymore.

To swim against the stream is as foolish as following it. The only sensible thing is trying to get ashore.

The multitude

How did Hitler become what he became? He was also a cute little kid when he was little. Did his father abuse him? Did an evil spirit take possession of him? Was he a malignant narcissist? What does it matter? Isn't the most crucial question why so many people began to worship him?

Outsiders

We who no longer belong anywhere often feel lonely. That's why we, too, have formed an association, a secret society. But we have no leader, no doctrine to follow, and no special meeting places. We don't wear any signs of our affiliation, no silly hats or necklaces. We recognize each other when we happen to meet.

Jump off the bandwagon

You don't have to adhere to a religion or political ideology. You don't have to be a right-winger for the rest of your life just because you happen to be a right-winger right now. You don't have to be a Marxist, a religious fundamentalist, or a follower of a spiritual teacher. It's possible to drop out and simply be a human being.

Many former cult members have left their cult despite losing all their friends. There are alcoholics who have stopped drinking and smokers who have quit smoking. There are even careerists who have resigned from their top jobs in business to have more time for family life.

The horse doesn't need the rider; it's the rider who needs the horse.

What if also you have been deceived? What if everything you believe in and live for is misconceptions, or worse, pure idiocy? It's not impossible, on the contrary. Throughout history, people have always been deceived into one thing or another, which later turned out to be misconceptions or sheer idiocy.