I know we talked about Bacon and the four Idols last Wednesday, but I’ve still been thinking about those Idols and which one I believe presents the most dissention within a society. In class I offered my opinion that the Idols of the Cave would present the most problems, but I would like to retract this and instead offer that the Idols of the Marketplace present the most conflict between people in societies and between different societies themselves.
I believe that the Idols of the Marketplace would initiate the most problems because almost everything that our country is founded on, for example, is just a bunch of statements and ideas in the form of a Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Words themselves do not have meaning—it is the people that interpret those statements and apply them to every day life that give them meaning. The Bill of Rights, for example, can be considered very ambiguous, but because of the judicial system we have in place and a sound police force to enforce those judicial rulings, we have an idea of what exactly those rights entail. We know, for example, that our government cannot come into our lives and force us to adopt a certain religion. We know that the government cannot come in and censor our ideas and our “freedom of speech.” We know that we have the right to stand out on the sidewalk with signs saying “Bush sucks” or even “This country sucks” because we all have a common definition in our minds as to what our rights entitle us to do.
Where the problems begin to arise, however, is when an individual is not on the same page as everyone else as to what our laws and ideas mean. I recently watched the History Channel and found a perfect example of this misunderstanding of definitions that I really wanted to be able to tie in to one of our readings. The History Channel did a story on Frank Collin, the leader of the National Socialist Party of America (US Nazi Party) and his various rallies and organizations that he held in Chicago. He became well known when he tried to organize a Nazi march through Skokie, Illinois, a Jewish suburb outside of Chicago after he was banned from speaking publicly in the city. With Skokie being home to a high number of Holocaust survivors, it was no surprise that the village refused to let Collin march. This launched a huge legal battle, with Collin declaring that he was exercising his right to free speech guaranteed him by the first amendment. Eventually, the courts ruled that Collin would be allowed to march, yet he and his group would not be permitted to show or wear swastikas. Yet before the actual march took place, the city of Chicago withdrew the ban they had laid on the organization and Collin moved the rally back into the city.
I think this is a perfect example of the Idols of the Marketplace—all the different meanings and definitions a single sentence can have, and its impacts on so many different people. Here, Collin argued that the first amendment protected his right to march where he wanted and say what he wanted even though he and everyone else knew that it would cause and uproar. And, as a result of this uproar, the judicial system (and those watching on TV) had to step back and analyze what they thought that first amendment really meant. Through dramatic examples such as these, it becomes apparent just how significant a common understanding (or single differing understanding) of a few words can be. Who knows what could have happened if Collin’s Nazi party did march through Skokie? More than likely it could have resulted in violence—things could have even turned fatal. When it comes to the Idols of the Marketplace, words and individual understandings can mean life or death.
Here Collin defends his march in a press speech. He says some very interesting things, check it out!
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