Agents of shame

“Shame on you!”

Have you experienced this scathing rebuke? How did it make you feel? Who delivered it to you? Was it a friend, co-worker, or was it a family member? How old were you the first time it occurred? Did it become a significant emotional event which you have carried throughout your life feebly trying to overcome the aftereffects?

Shame is a tool of control. It has been used against us for this purpose and we employ it for the exact same reason. We want our ideals to be the only one which have preeminence in any given situation.

Morality – the nature of right and wrong – is the backbone of shame’s destructive tendency. Other’s interpretation of what constitutes “right” is the warrant they serve us when shame is searingly thrust into our consciousness. This is true even when we do it to ourselves.

We live in very fluid times and shame is the rudder which directs the course of events presently. The “Cancel Culture” is the present instrument of shame. However, we should not overlook the great efforts in shame that the other movements, including the government, who have entered into the arena of controlling our actions.

I am well aware how being an old white man there are those younger than me who will attempt to shame me as being privileged, racist, Nazi, potentially misogynistic, homophobic, conservative, liberal, or progressive. Each of these petards, or any other from the quiver of slurs, are used frequently to squash any dialogue before it even begins. Their apparent value in use is just how shame-filled they make the person feel. The side effect is also just how shame-filled do they make those around the person feel too.

Control is about dealing with the masses not the individual. The individual is merely an unsuspecting tool which the agents of shame use to herd the masses who might develop the ability to think independently. Critical thought is often the light which causes the cockroach of shame to scurry into the crevasses of their self-importance.

During world war 2, Germany required all Jewish people to wear a star of David on their clothing as an identifying marker of their heritage. This was employed as a means of casting shame upon a people group within the population at large. It brought with it ridicule and violence from the general population which the government could not fully accomplish with their limited resources. The government merely had to employ the means of public indoctrination of shame to achieve its desires of control. Those who were critical thinkers about the morality of such actions were dealt with appropriately.

In the biblical record, the first occurrence of shame is self-inflicted. The first man, Adam, attempts to clothe himself and then hide after eating the forbidden fruit. When God asks him why he acted in this manner, Adam’s response was because he was naked. How God responds is often missed in grace circles simply because the tradition of God being a judgmental and vengeful deity is so ingrained into our psyche. “Who said you were naked?”

Grace transcends our shame-filled shroud of self-imposed guilt. It cuts right to the core of who we believe we are. It demands that we stand in the truth.

Today, we face a great divide in our nation and across the globe as the perception of a pandemic has been thrust upon us. Governments are attempting to contain the spread of a new contagion they know little about. Control of the populace is the operative means being used to contain the effects of this invisible force. There are competing theories and treatments being presented as never before in how to address this matter, and yet, the narrative being offered has to be controlled also. Social media platforms and MSM outlets are working furiously to ensure that only one voice, one explanation, one treatment and cure is heard by the populace. Self-isolation, social distancing, hygiene and face masks are a reality to our nakedness to this invisible force.

We were told that our efforts to close down the economy by staying home would help to “flatten the curve” of victims needing to use limited hospital resources. As projections of cases never materialized, we began to hear that we were doing this to protect the lives of those who were most susceptible. The slogans, “Stay at home and save a life,” and “Wear a mask so you don’t kill a loved one,” began to filter into our consciousness without any validation of these being statements of truth. We began living in fear of anything or anyone outside of our circle of direct influence. We began to confront our belief in a person being innocent before proven guilty. Additionally, we forced ourselves to confront our fear of dying.

Fear is the catalyst for the use of shame. While morality will be the structure of how it will be administered, fear is the volcanic purging which fuels the shame-inducing event. Agents of shame fear their loss of control. Losing it is a personal death blow. The ego, which drives their identity, seeks the role of authority and it is from this position that uncertainty is forbidden to enter. Death, the ultimate uncertainty, is therefore the greatest fear, the pinnacle of uncontrollability.

The injunction God presented to the man and the woman in the garden was that in the day that they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they shall surely die. Doing the wrong, or evil, thing causes death. However, the fruit is also good and doing good will cause death also once the fruit has been eaten. Good and evil, the basis of morality, causes death across the entire spectrum. Shame is the tool which flails at our nakedness trying to hide our perceived imperfections in ourselves and others.

The next time someone ask you do you have a mask, whether you do or not, consider who told them you were naked and what fear they have been forced to deal with in asking you this question. If you are one who refuses to wear a mask there is no shame in this, despite what society seeks to thrust upon you. You have made a choice and grace honors this just as much as it honors those who feel compelled to submit to a different narrative without careful consideration of truth.

In the final analysis it might all come down to how much of an agent of shame have you been. If you can’t even control yourself how does trying to control others work toward your being the best you can be? Is it possible you can live a grace-filled life that is not ashamed of who you are or of the people around you?