318 A Programmer’s Guide to the Mind
A pseudo-culture is an imitation society.
It contains Mercy experiences, people, objects and relationships.
Teacher feelings gives these Mercy elements emotional depth.
It is protected by claiming to go „beyond culture.‟How can a pseudo-culture claim to be superior to other cultures? By
stating that it goes beyond personal feelings. In the words of the American
businessman: “America is the land of opportunity. We are not bound by
the emotional shackles of tradition. Everything has its price. Anything can
be bought and sold.” Or to quote the Canadian multiculturalist, “Canada is
the land of total religious and cultural freedom. We are not bound by the
shackles of any specific traditions. All religions and cultures are accepted.
Any belief will be tolerated.” In this way, we give the impression that the
deepest Mercy feelings can be found in an environment which, in reality,
ignores all deep Mercy feelings.
It is cross-cultural contact which exposes the deficiencies of a pseudo-
culture. However, it is always possible to respond by adding more
professionalism. This allows the illusion of culture to continue. Therefore,
the more we North Americans use objectivity and political correctness to
avoid dealing with real issues, the more we make up for our Mercy
emptiness by adding Teacher professionalism.
A pseudo-culture is not defeated by simply exposing its shortcomings.
Rather, one must confront the Teacher foundations which lie behind the
false culture and which give it emotional significance. However, I suggest
that destroying the Teacher order of a pseudo-culture is just as dangerous
as overturning the Mercy foundations of a pseudo-theory. This is because
destruction itself creates Teacher feelings—negative ones. The painful
Teacher emotions produced by disorder can continue to propel a pseudo-
culture.A For an example, turn on the television and look at programs
which depict the Teacher disorder of mayhem and destruction. They are
professionally produced, with state-of-the-art technical special effects, yet
they callously continue to avoid deep Mercy feelings. The repeated
depictions of rape, theft, rebellion, destruction, and murder have nothing to
do with Mercy subtlety and sensitivity.
I suggest that the best way to defeat a pseudo-culture is to create a
better Teacher order based in deep Mercy feelings. This belittles the
Teacher feelings of professionalism which add emotional weight to the
empty Mercy experiences. Mercy strategy then feels the lack of culture and
becomes open to an alternative.
A This is because drive originates in the Exhorter part, which responds not
only to positive but also to negative emotions. Both generate equal
amounts of energy.