ms. jennifer bilek, journalist, in an interview linked below, discusses the origins of ideology, narratives and agendas on a particular subject. she noted how a belief system can be generated top down by powerful and wealthy people. she asserted how these individuals can bring an ideology to the general population. she contrasted it to individuals and essentially grass roots efforts.
religions can fit within this framework. was judaism be considered a top down ideology? could it be considered to have a grass roots origin? or, was it something different?
unlike influential and wealthy individuals controlling the narrative, judaism has the ultimate in a top down origin. the master of the universe who created the ideology, narratives and agenda and delivered it at mt. sinai to the collective children. the agenda was provided to all and was accepted. the torah with the ten commandments were delivered and accepted.
the origin narrative continued. joshua had such a meeting. joshua 23. during the reign of king josiah, there was once again a mass reading of the laws before the citizenry. further, upon returning to the promised land after after the destruction of the first temple, ezra read the torah to the citizenry with the assistance of levite tribe members.
given this history, how can one characterize the origin?
while judaism appears to be a top down driven origin, there is a stark difference from those currently pushing ideology and agendas. for judaism, the master of the universe monetary gain was the demand for a flat one-half shekel tax to be used to support the cult institution. further, those in charge of the cult, the levites, were not positioned for monetary gain. their were not given any tribal land. in essence, those who controlled the ideology, narratives and agenda had a level of purity. .
in contrast, modern ideologies, narratives, and agendas are problematic. unlike judaism, we are provided no narrative. there is no torah. there is no mass education. we are not being provided the complete ideology, narrative and agenda. further, unlike judaism, there is no disclosure of the financial interests. unlike judaism, we are not advised as to who is responsible for the ideology.
in sum, it is imperative that society receives full disclosure with respect to modern ideologies, their narratives, and their agendas. only then can people decide whether to accept or reject them. top down agendas often are to enrich those at the top. sadly, these agendas have by-product of creating unnecessary division among normal people and work to destroy civil society.
be well!!
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