Page 80 - The Religion Of The Ignorant

THE RELIGION OF THE IGNORANT

15- THE MACHO SPIRIT
Another common personality trait widespread among males in
the Religion of the Ignorant is machismo.
Their macho spirit begins in adolescence and generally contin-
ues up to middle age, exerting a major effect on attitudes and be-
havior. These men have common attitudes and forms of behavior.
This personality trait has its own principles and in its advanced
form, can become a philosophy and ethical system. It has its own
rights and wrongs and its own virtues. Under this system, it is
gravely immoral to cast one's eyes on the daughters of friends or
neighbors. When this is done to someone not living locally, how-
ever, this is regarded as macho behavior. There is a superficial logic
of protection of local women and daughters. In theory, rightness or
honesty is an unchanging element of the macho spirit, but in prac-
tice, all kinds of falsehood are seen as cleverness and highly es-
teemed.
This wicked culture is generally based on proving oneself, so
an aggressive state of mind predominates. Posing as a psychopath,
sudden interventions, unbalanced behavior and being ready to fight
at any moment are indications of how macho a man is. One method
frequently resorted to is adopting an off-putting and exceedingly
unbalanced appearance in order to be feared.
Their conversations generally concentrate on football, fighting
or the opposite gender. It is highly esteemed to engage in long con-
versations discussing political, economic or social matters, with sec-
ond-hand information obtained from print media.
The macho, with such individual traits as indifference and ag-
gression, satisfies his social and ideological impulses with partisan-
ship. A fanatical group psychology rules, manifesting itself in
various forms, such as supporting a particular football team or

78