Our Desk | Don’t be lazy, be an atheist

João Pedro Lau

For the majority of us it is very easy to be comfortable with a set of beliefs or an ideology that we would rather defend than question.
I am not talking about religious beliefs here, but political beliefs and ideologies, as well as one’s adherence to a political entity.
The situation is the most prominent in the United States, where, from my observations, a lot of people tend to describe their political orientation through stating which (major) party they support.
A similar situation seems to take place in Hong Kong, where many say that they support the pan-democratic camp or the pro-establishment camp.
When you put your trust in a political entity, it is inevitable that you will trust the people who represent the group too. It is like when you claim to be a democrat in the US, it is more likely that you trust or support Barack Obama. Or when you say you support the pan-democratic camp in Hong Kong, you are likely to support the members of the HK Legislative Council who are in that camp as well.
It all seems like a religion. When you put your trust in a church, you put your trust in the representative of the church and believe whatever they say. Comfortable as it is, this approach is in fact extremely lazy and can bring people a lot of trouble.
For example, when the political group or representative you are associated with has made some seriously questionable decisions or is involved in some sort of scandal, it is inevitable that the opposition will seize the charge and attack both the group and the ideology it holds. You, as a follower of the group and a believer of the ideology, will then be forced to defend the two, even though sometimes it is impossible to defend the former.
When I was younger, I was one of those lazy people who would identify themselves as a member of some political entities or groups. Sometimes I would even think that what the group did was (almost) always correct and was out of some selfness intention.
This changed when I started finding evidence that went against the groups or their representatives that I trusted, thanks to the smear campaign cooked up by the opposition and the almighty Internet.
It was shocking for me at first to find out “the truth” behind the scenes, just like when a child finds out that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. But when I got over it, I felt liberated because I no longer needed to defend the group while trying to defend some of the thoughts and ideas that they held.
Looking at the current situation in Hong Kong, some may blame members of the pan-democratic camp and the three leaders of the Occupy Central movement for igniting the mass scale protests. But the truth is, if you really ask the people on the streets, many of them would probably tell you that they are not gathering there because of those leaders or the pan-democratic politicians. They are there because they have a demand and they want the government to hear it.
This has led to the result that despite the government and some pro-establishment media trying to discredit the prominent figures in the pan-democracy camp, it does not discourage people from protesting because they are there for their own beliefs.
If you are still holding on to some ideology because of the group you are associated with, I urge you to use your critical thinking to scrutinize it and decide if you want to adhere to the ideology or the group anymore. Don’t be lazy and believe everything others feed you. Be a political atheist and believe in things that you find credible.