In society

On the way of atavism

12 July 2013 Anton Oresh

Like Alexander Podrabinek , like many others, I laughed at bureaucratic idiocy, when the Neptune holiday was banned at the insistence of local churchmen in the Voronezh region. And over the speaker of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vsevolod Chaplin also laughed - Father Vsevolod is a famous master to explain the inexplicable.

But I thought about this. The situation is ridiculous only in part. After all, the decision was made in all seriousness. It seems strange to an ordinary person, but the authorities accept him! And who is in the power who is sitting? Ground Orthodox? Fools stuffed? Who is sitting there? Not for money, they released such a paper. For money, they may issue some other acts. In this decision, there is neither a corruption component, nor any special political meaning. However, I think that this decision will be in a series of more such decisions for one simple reason. People do not want to contact. And neither the authorities nor ordinary citizens want to contact.

Tell me: have you read the law on protecting the feelings of believers? Right from crust to crust? And you can immediately give a qualified assessment, from the point of view of this law, to one or another actions? I doubt very much. But this is one of the meanings of this law and all the last stupid at first glance, but repressive laws in essence. The deputies are sitting in a Duma. Or ministers in the local government - and then an angry letter about the terrible Neptune, which strengthens the wrong scrapers from the local diocese. And how to react? Domest and throw in the trash? And if these priests consider themselves offended in their religious feelings? But how to give a drink to be considered! The court, of course, in whose favor the decision will make. Because we all see what trends today and, I am not afraid of this word, trends.

The people understood the law simply: you can’t argue with the priests! If the attempt is unhappy, it means that it is easier to give in and in everything to agree from sin away. If not priests are indignant, but a person of twenty Orthodox activists, it is also better not to argue. For the same reasons. And Voronezh officials, who probably themselves have fun at the festival of Neptune, forbid him. In order not to have hemorrhoids on your asses. And ordinary Russians will not argue either. Because no one knows the texts of the laws, but people understand without text, which are these laws about. You can’t argue with the Russian Orthodox Church - and the point. Everyone understands the essence, and everyone understands what decisions will be made in case.

This mechanism allows not only to make any decisions, hiding behind absurd laws. This mechanism includes in the people of the “internal censor”. Like colleagues working in state media. They have not been forbidden to them for a long time - they themselves do not. They do not talk about the opposition, they are not called on the air, they do not criticize power and church. Because it is useless, because "it will not pass." So why contact? So the people, faced in everyday life with some situation like the Voronezh Neptune, will include its “internal censor” and will come to terms.

And this is another atavism of the scoop returning to us. Only atavism in the scientific sense is an accident, a rare manifestation of signs characteristic of distant ancestors. And our whole life is slowly on the path of continuous atavism.

Photo by Vladimir Velengurin (TASS photo chronicle)