Editors note: This is the second part of a four-part letter submitted by Ray Johnson, a DeLand resident. Part 1 ran on Page 4A of the Oct. 12-18 edition of The Beacon.

All leaders, whether political or religious, are fallible and must be questioned and held accountable rather than taken at their word. Question everything and accept nothing until verified by factual data universally recognized. For better or worse, most of what is currently happening in politics, education, social relations (LGBTQ+, women’s rights, injustice, diversity, equality, and divisiveness) are the creation of those who feel alienated and those who seek power funded by greed.

By this, there is a need to understand them, including the radical divergence from values and assumptions that have been in the mainstream of our society since the 17th century. As President John F. Kennedy stated, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I am at a loss to know where the motivation and the radical discontent stems from. Can we transform this society into a true recognizable union; the Great Society!

This writer, who has always considered himself an advocate of the Enlightenment philosophers, placing science and reason above all matters, has been aware of the magnitude of the flight from reason and critical thinking since 2015. Since then, however, although I am not a philosopher or historian, but merely an 83-year-old observer, retired architect, photographer, and poet with a keen interest in the future of our society and democracy.

The occasion that drew my attention to the absence of reason was the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. I followed it closely and knew each of the candidates’ backgrounds and personal characteristics. The Republican Party had abandoned reason over fake showmanship. The narcissistic attitude of the nominee and the party has always been foremost above what is best for America, and they abandoned reason. Such as reasonable gun laws, women’s rights to control their own bodies and money in politics.

In order to understand the Republican behavior, we must see it as a moral failure of the world beginning with the First World War, WW II, Korean War, Vietnam conflict, Iraq War, and the Afghanistan debacle to the present-day Ukraine-Russian conflict. The moral failure has been amplified by the Christian entities (such as the Catholic Church) who are self-serving with centurieslong series of disillusioning shocks, such as the wickedness of priests, and the logic of untested beliefs.

Thus, many individuals have basically withdrawn from society and consequentially feel alienated by the system and pose a threat to individual freedom. What we are experiencing is nothing new; a la the Roman Empire in which many individuals withdrew from society because they found that their society was dissatisfying and disgusting.

Another example is the Exodus from Egypt. It was Trump’s fame that moved millions to follow him into the path of irrationality and feel an emotional attachment where ordinary mortals could not aspire to emulate his heroic image. The withdrawal from Roman society (like what is happening in the United States) ultimately led to the collapse of the Roman Empire.

So, what role does reason or the absence thereof have for our future? Can we reset our sails and develop a new course for rationality?

Ray Johnson

DeLand