To see someone who believes that they alone can change the world, that they are the center of the most important changes happening around them, and that many are conspiring against them, trying to get rid of them, and yet they are the only source of goodness.
This is paranoia, a psychological illness in which the afflicted person is controlled by thoughts and beliefs that have their own special logic. The behavior of a paranoid person is characterized by excessive doubt, suspicion, and stubbornness in order to prove the validity of their beliefs and ideas.
But are there sects, communities, or beliefs that suffer from paranoia?
Humans on planet Earth hold many ideas and beliefs that divide them metaphysically, socially, racially, politically, and even within scientific communities. Often, humans gather in groups, and each group monopolizes the good for themselves, depriving other parties of their fair share, and paranoia becomes part of the collective unconscious of groups that often feel they are the best faction. The resulting collective feeling is one of grandeur and suspicion.
This is embodied in many radical groups that have built their ideology largely on the idea of the surviving faction. We see this at the religious level and its effects on wars and conflicts that arise from the basis of "suspicion and grandeur." We also see it at the political level, where despite the progress of democracy in many countries, both right and left-wing parties still rally around the theoretical concept of paranoia, with each party seeing itself as the only one with the right to claim the truth.
Just as the multiple layers of society each separately believe they are the best and the targeted, such as the bourgeoisie, aristocracy, and proletariat.
Paranoia is not being biased towards an idea, but rather it is the belief in its greatness and the impossibility of any ideas competing with it. This happens with the scientific community, or what is known as supporters of science. They argue with each other in debates and scientific forums, each trying to monopolize knowledge for themselves, attributing scientific interpretations of things to one theory over another, believing that it is the true embodiment of the truth.
If we want to look for some contrast with ideological paranoia, we see that it is "intellectual freedom" that makes the mind the most important tool for reaching opinions and allows us to choose right from wrong.
We see that many supporters of secularism make it a habit to criticize and insult supporters of religious and metaphysical thought, accusing them of being backward. On the other side, supporters of metaphysical thought gather their forces to defend their beliefs and attack the other side, each side believing that the other is trying to destroy them, and their followers believing that the credit is solely theirs. Therefore, the important solution is to accept differences, the plurality of truth and right, and always try to build bridges of cooperation and human harmony, trying to influence the collective mind to change the idea of social suspicion and monopolization of goodness.
Ideological paranoia is one of the most significant challenges that humanity has faced since ancient times. It has been the cause of military, intellectual, and sectarian conflicts around the world. Therefore, we should free our minds and humanity and accept the differences of the people around us, and the diversity of their ideas. We should accept their colors, religions, and thoughts, and respect them so that humanity can move towards more advanced societies.
By: Maher Daboul.
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