Page 142 - The Religion Of The Ignorant

THE RELIGION OF THE IGNORANT

everyone. A great many employees combine arrogance with a sense
of inferiority. Their word counts for anything only in their field of
work. They therefore adopt a harsh, even domineering attitude to-
wards those who have business with them. One sees cups of tea
being constantly emptied and refilled, a thick fog of cigarette smoke,
employees complaining how hard it is to make ends meet, family
problems and shopping, and carry out their work with a listless air.
The employees' tone of voice and bad temper make it clear they
cannot stand the work they do. The suppliant must be constantly
pleasant to those who will actually be doing the work. Asking too
many questions may irritate them. In all probability, no reply will be
forthcoming to the questions he asks, which are silenced with a
harsh look. One can even hear reprimands the whole time.
However, this image of the difficult, bad tempered, know-it-all
civil servant in public offices emerges only in the presence of poor,
ignorant or oppressed people who come to the office. In contrast,
civil servants who are members of the Religion of the Ignorant never
display that kind of behavior before wealthy, well-dressed people of
high rank. On the contrary, they treat them with the greatest respect,
even though this is generally not a genuine, but a vulgar respect
stemming from an inferiority complex and a lack of identity. In all
probability, the civil servant has something to gain from the respect
shown to such people. Yet since this is an important value judg-
ment, the civil servant necessarily feels respect for the wealthy per-
son—respect that may be described as a mixture of envy and
admiration. The vulgar, self-interested Ignorantist character can be
seen here very plainly.
Adherents of the Religion of the Ignorant regard all this as per-
fectly normal and ordinary, in the same way that fish are unaware of
the water around them. Ignorantists are not aware how unreason-

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