Polishing the magic lamp

Let’s face it, pretty much all of human life is ridiculously complicated, and often the only way to make sense of it is through an emotional response.  Few can actually rationalise the complexities, including those who claim to be able to.

Life is a collision of emotion and reason.  Emotion comes easily and naturally.  To reason even simple problems effectively, a person needs to be trained and guided.  It takes a lot more effort to rationalise than it does to react.  As an added bonus, an understanding arrived at through reason is often counter to that reached through emotion, placing the poor human being in conflict with itself.

Usefully for third parties, emotional responses are easy to manipulate and control.  Through history, there have been speakers and leaders who’ve charmed or frightened whole populations into following their plan.  Religion has maintained its place in the world through generations of its own doctrine and oratory.  In business and politics, such manipulation has become a science.  Highly-paid technicians of Public Relations and Communications produce their “spin” for companies, interest groups and political parties.  Media proprietors set editorial policy and direction for newspapers and television.  Behind all of this, sit powerful – usually anonymous and unelected – interests.  Their continuing influence over sovereign individuals depends on their ability to manipulate emotion.

At grassroots level, religion, nationalism and sport – particularly football – work almost entirely on emotion.  The passion and brotherhood they generate can’t really be rationalised.  They offer a direct route to gratification, but also to disappointment.  But in the face of disappointment, there’s consolation in brotherhood. Neat.  A nod and a wink can help things along.  Reason can’t compete with that.

Arguments about leaving the EU are largely based on emotion, nationalism and brotherhood.  I saw a newspaper image of England fans holding aloft a full-sized image of the Queen at the Euro 2016 competition.  That’s not something you usually see at a football tournament.  

In a way, it’s not surprising.  Football hooliganism has long been linked to nationalism.  I can attest to that, having spent years of my youth as a Sheffield Wednesday hooligan and naïve nationalist.  Football hooligans see themselves as the Stormtroopers of the nationalist cause which, in recent years, has been spurred-on by talk of independence and referendums.  And, whilst the behaviour seen at Euro 2016 might give football a bad name, chauvinism’s a facet of nationalist character.  Politicians and opinion formers need to be careful what genies they let out of the bottle. 

When emotions are running so high, few are prepared to give reason a chance.  This makes outcomes unpredictable and dangerous.