Inactivism

Around eight years ago, two other guys and I came up with our own religion. It's just the sort of thing that people did when they were in their early 20's during the early 2000s. We called it the Church of Nil. Nilism is divided into three ministries; Nihilism, Slack and Discord - combining what we felt were the most enlightened parts of those three groups. To contrast the lofty ideals of the three pillars, we devised three disciplines as well; Nil-Science, Propaganda and Inactivism. Though the Church of Nil began to disintegrate almost as quickly as it was formed, certain aspects of our philosophy have stuck with me. Last time I talked about my adoration for action and inaction. It seems only right that I expand on the latter with some background on inactivism.

The culture which spawned the Church of Nil was one of caution, fear and apathy. Bush had recently been elected. 9/11 was still in the near future, but the climate was already prepared for what would come after. We formed our "fake religion" as a way of expressing our distaste for the current state of the world. However, we wanted our opinions and thoughts to reach viral levels (long before the concept of viral advertising had become widespread). Most importantly, we wanted this kind of influence without ever leaving the counter at our favorite coffee house. Inactivism was devised as the discipline involved in spreading positive ideas without effort. The most basic tools of inactivism are the "aura of intrigue" and "subliminal hypnosis". The former is the simple act of gathering together and projecting the kind of mystery and confidence that attracts others. We determined that the best way to spread our ideas was not to stand on a mound and preach to the masses but rather to use charisma to bring the masses to us. The latter involves leaving subtle workings of the Church of Nil in places which will inspire others to create their own Nil-truth.

Although the Church of Nil failed as a body (our Minister of Slack having to flee the state along with our Propaganda director), the theories of implementation were sound. What was originally devised as a way of getting people to think about things the way we did without any effort on our part turned out to be one of the most stunning trends of the last half of this decade in the form of viral advertising. These days every conceivable product is advertised in this manner. Trails of breadcrumbs are put in place, and human curiosity supplies all the locomotion for the process.

It is, in a way, terrifying to observe the lemming-like behavior that humans are capable of. At the same time, it is absolutely empowering for those of us who wish to use it for important ends. While some may want to promote their new film using these methods, there are others who want to lead the world to a new enlightenment with them. Science fiction often tells fantastic stories about hive-minded societies that think together. The fatal flaw with these societies usually comes when some anomaly is introduced and the lack of individuality leads to a lack of creative problem solving. Humanity may be more like a hive mind than Sci-fi authors believe. Individuality may be more of a hindrance as the single-minded aspects of our species can be bent to the whims of a few charismatic individuals. If humanity does triumph however, it will not be as one great society of individuals but rather as many thinking as one. Whether it is a triumph or a disaster will depend primarily on who begins the thought process which follows its course to our end.