"It turns values into 'mere natural phenomena'—which can be selected and inculcated into a passive population by powerful Conditioners."Millions of Americans were inculcated into supporting the shockingly unfit John Kerry by powerful Conditioners in the "Newsmedia", academia, Hollywood, and the Democrat Party in what amounted to the most relentless barrage of propaganda in history.
The great miracle is that far more people resisted this inculcation--a magnificent accomplishment.
I cannot avoid an attitude of condescension toward Kerry supporters. They have proven themselves to be dangerously passive and dangerously susceptible to inculcation by powerful Conditioners. It's hard not to be scornful of such people.
There is a C S Lewis book that in some ways surpasses Mere Christianity. The Great Divorce. Sticks to the ribs better than 'Mere'.
snip...They have proven themselves to be dangerously passive and dangerously susceptible to inculcation by powerful Conditioners.
In addition to the two sorts of people you've mentioned.....(a)the powerful Conditioners {those who believe they are intellectually superior to everyone else}, and (b) the passive ones {those who yearn for the safety & security of a Daddy}, there is one other group. (c) the anger-filled 'brown shirt' types. These are the sociopathic sort who, because their brains are on fire with burning resentment, envy, and the need for vengeance against imagined slights, become the 'rampagers of terror, mayhem, and chaos' if they're properly primed and then unleashed by their 'handlers.'