Page 96 - Liberating Liberals V2

The God-shaped Hole in the Soul
children, romantic love, patriotism, passionate work, fervor for the home team, love of art and literature,
etc. If you escape life without having the specter of meaninglessness ever haunt you then you are one of the very fortunate ones. Though I’m not sure it’s possible to do so. Many people spend their lives running from meaninglessness. They make the leap into some religion, pastime, job, family, or friendship that keeps the lion of meaninglessness sublimated deep in their subconscious.
But even Billy Graham has to occasionally wonder if God, his central meaning, really exists. I believe Hitler or Stalin must have wondered if their meanings were simply excuses for killing rather than important meanings. Hopefully the specter of meaninglessness sometimes shook those monsters to their bones. Or maybe they built such defenses that their illusions became their concrete, unassailable reality.
Proof of how intimidating meaninglessness is is that almost every religion and philosophy is in part an effort to escape meaninglessness. They either do it by declaring they are the true meaning, or by declaring some morality that everyone must adhere to.
The combination of morality and meaning
leads one to believe that life is inherently, and only, serious. Because if you don’t take something seriously enough to try to select the correct moral choice, then you’re immoral. You’re are not a “serious person.”
In the next chapter we will explore what it means to occasionally ignore this condemnation.
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