The True Believer ~ according to Eric Hoffer

 

The True Believer ~ according to Eric Hoffer *

by TPO

     Eric Hoffer came to public attention with the 1951 publication of his first book, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, which consists of a preface and 125 sections, which are divided into 18 chapters. Hoffer analyzes the phenomenon of "mass movements," a general term that he applies to revolutionary parties, nationalistic movements, and religious movements.  

     He summarizes his thesis in §113: "A movement is pioneered by men of words, materialized by fanatics and consolidated by men of actions."    

     Hoffer argues that fanatical and extremist cultural movements, whether religious, social, or national, arise when large numbers of frustrated people, believing their own individual lives to be worthless or spoiled, join a movement demanding radical change. But the real attraction for this population is an escape from the self, not a realization of individual hopes: "A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation."

     Hoffer consequently argues that the appeal of mass movements is interchangeable: in the Germany of the 1920s and the 1930s, for example, the Communists and National Socialists were ostensibly enemies, but sometimes enlisted each other's members, since they competed for the same kind of marginalized, angry, frustrated people. For the "true believer," Hoffer argues that particular beliefs are less important than escaping from the burden of the autonomous self.

      Harvard historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. said of The True Believer: "This brilliant and original inquiry into the nature of mass movements is a genuine contribution to our social thought." 

* WIKIPEDIA
---------------------------------------------------------------
     In my opinion, "true believers" are crazed people who eventually realize the futility of their ideas or ideals and then become cynical counterrevolutionaries!  My best go-to poet, William Butler Yeats, forever put this little catchy poem in my head:
      The Great Day 

      Hurrah for revolution and more cannon-shot!
      A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot.
      Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again!
      The beggars have changed places, but the lash goes on.

 

The Honey Hunter --- The Lost Soul ! ~ by Hénock Gugsa

 

   The Honey Hunter – The Lost Soul !
~ story from Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia ~
Compiled, revised and presented

 by Hénock Gugsa ( ሄኖክ  ጉግሣ )
=============================================

     Once there was a man who made his living by collecting honey from forests and caves and selling it at the market place.  In those olden times, there were no hives, but bees made use of certain hollow places on trees and crevices on cave walls.  He was helped by a friendly bird who gave him directions to where honey may be found.

     One day, he saw some bees buzzing around a tree, and naturally, he concluded that there was some honey to be had. So he gathered a bunch of kindling and lit a small fire to create smoke to distract the bees.  Having directed the smoke inside the hollow tree, he was able to garner large swaths of honey.  As it happened, he had not had the foresight to bring a goatskin sack which could accommodate a big haul.  So, he left what amount of honey he had collected on the ground at the bottom of the tree, and he went off to look for a sack.

     Upon his return with a sack, he discovered that all the honey was gone. What had happened was that a porcupine, a 'jart' (ጃርት), had taken the honey and hidden it in a nearby cave.  She was planning to call all her friends and throw a party where they would engorge their tummies with the godsend honey!

     The unfortunate victim of the dastardly theft  began scouring the surrounding area for a possible cache of the stolen honey.  As the man approached the entrance of the thief's cave, he heard a noise.

     “Someone who took my honey is in there,” he thought.

     He entered the cave and saw an evil spirit, a 'zar' (ዛር), disguised as a woman. She was baking and fermenting cereals to prepare t’ala (ጠላ).

     The 'zar' snarled, “What do you want?”

     The hunter said, “I had gathered some honey and went to look for a sack. When I came back, all the honey was gone. At first, I thought the thief was a man, but then I decided it was a porcupine because I saw her footprints near this cave. Porcupines are my enemies and I want to destroy them.”

     The 'zar' frowned and hissed.  “These porcupines are food for us zars. They are like sheep and goats to us. So if you harm them, a bad spell will fall upon you. Look elsewhere for others who might have stolen your honey. Leave the porcupines alone!”

     She gave him some hard unleavened bread, k’it’a (ቂጣ). As soon as he went out the door, he was immediately turned into a porcupine. Instead of two legs he now had four and the thorns of the porcupine stood up all over his body!

     There was nothing to do but seek some of his men friends for help with his predicament.  As it happened, on his way he found himself in the middle of a big fire that had broken out of nowhere.  He got very badly burnt but managed to flee.  He ran and ran and jumped into the sea. When he came back out of the sea, he was changed back into a man.

     Having then learned his lesson, he began to live in the bushes, eating berries and natural foods from trees.  He was now neither like a porcupine nor like a human being.  And so he was lost and unapproachable ... to all living things!

     He lived like a savage hermit.  It is believed he still lives to this day!