To understand politics it is necessary to examine deep patterns in the beliefs and attitudes of the American public. Here are some starting ideas for doing so.

By Ed Knudson

For some time I have been using a phrase, in my own thinking process, for quandaries having to do with basic human consciousness, political consciousness, or public consciousness. One hears or reads these expressions quite often, yet what is the actual referent?

It is to deep patterns of beliefs and habits of thought in the minds and hearts of human beings and generalized in language of public debate in the various media. I have found myself using the phrase "deep culture" to refer to these phenomena. They are very real, we live within these expressions day after day as we participate in conversations and listen to others. But there seems to be something missing, something "deeper", something existing below the words or behaviors of people, something having to do with basic assumptions about how the world works and how individuals and groups define what is right and wrong, good and bad, and what are the sources of human meannings.

It is these deeper expressions that seem to constitute the threads of unity by which different groups define themselves, by which human beings identify themselves and therefore associate with political parties or religious groups and groups of all types. In this section of this website we want to explore these deeper meanings and how they manifest themselves in practical politics.

Here are some of the elements of what we are going to call "deep culture" which we want to consider as we develop this concept here:

1. Deep Ecology. The concept of Deep Culture can be contrasted with Deep Ecology, which was formulated by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess who recently died at age 96. This is the idea that biological life other than human is to be so highly valued that the human can be sacrificed for the survival of other biological life. Or, at least, I understand this to be the tendency for this line of thought. If so, what is being given up by this concept. What is it about humanity that is different than other life? It is human consciousness. As far as we know, humans are unique in being conscious of themselves and to have developed language and symbol systems to such high levels. A focus on Deep Culture means to take such symbol systems, and words and language and rituals, very seriously, for it is this dimension that is the source of human meanings.
   
   
2. Intellectual Abstraction. The great tendency of western thought is to privilege abstract thought as truth, to the exclusion of the concrete consciousness of particular persons. This is built into current academic approaches in all the disciplines. This means that on the basis of so-called empirical ("factual") claims theories are promoted at high levels of abstraction and pushed toward universal applications, in the process sacrificing the anomaly, the specific, the concrete, including the concrete consciousness of the unique individual who may want to protest, or the group consciousness of a group of such protesting different individuals who object to being placed within the normalized standards of abstract so-called truth. Institutions of modernity, what we might call Enlightenment Institutions (government, business, schools, education, medicine, the free press, and their related professions, etc.), are all based today on this way of understanding truth which means the society as a whole is tending toward an obliteration, or at least a rather total manipulation, of the whole experience of human consciousness. A focus on Deep Culture wants to explore the significance of this consciousness and its relation to concrete, physical, material, bodily reality.
   
   
3. The Exclusivist Flaw in American Character. Americans seem to have a propensity, especially in some quarters, to need to find an "excluded other" to attack and on whom to blame economic or social problems. Especially, right wing religion and radio seem focused on a demonic enemy, such as welfare recipients or others who can be blamed for failing to exercise "personal responsibility." I think this comes from three sources: the religious notion of a "hell" to which the bad people go, the racial history of slavery in this country which created a habit of thought that "black is bad," and an even deeper history of English superiority over all others in the world, so that somehow the English believed God had given them the right to conquer the world. Though England has given up its empire in recent history, this pattern of thought continues now especially in the United States. When a people thinks of itself as superior to others it means that it is necessary to maintain disdain for all not like one's own. This is why the notion of "American Exceptionalism" should be suspect.
   
   
4. Multi-Cultural Education. Doing a web search on "deep culture" brings up several sites having to do with teacher training of multi-culturalism and teaching English as a second language. A 2007 book by Joseph Shaules is reviewed entitled Deep Culture: The Hidden Challenges of Global Living. This emphasis is an effort to become aware of and appreciate the distinctive cultural patterns of people from cultures other than the United States, especially Hispanic cultures, since the number of Hispanics in this country has been increasing substantially. At this website we are happy to affirm that aspect of a "deep culture" but are also interested in probing deeper into the various cultures taken to be representative of the United States, in the sense of being able to speak of a public consciousness in this country.
   
   
5. Popular Freudianism. Though the theories of Sigmund Freud are no longer taught with the authority they once enjoyed, aspects of his thought have entered into the popular consciousness, especially through Hollywood movies and the focus on sexuality in modernity. I do not myself intend to associate the notion of the "unconscious" with Deep Culture as if there are deep, dark, irrational forces lurking within persons or society that threaten at any moment to overtake us or determine our destiny, which is the way popular Freudianism has received this concept. Freud invented the concept because he could not otherwise explain what he seemed to see inside the human psyche. But these ideas have been taught in modern culture and continue to influence the thought patterns and habits of modern folks. The idea that sexuality is "repressed" into the unconscious by society in the form of superego and that liberation is doing what comes naturally (sex, that is) remains strongly believed by many and is part of what we want to call here Deep Culture. It drives many toward ideation of sexual fulfillment so strong that probably millions of the male species in this country primarily use the Internet to download pornagraphic images, trying to satisfy in their minds what they cannot actually experience in physical relationships with women. It's a sad state of affairs but part of today's Deep Culture that cannot be avoided if one wants to be truthful about human consciousness. This is one place the thinking of Michel Foucault can make a real contribution, which we will be exploring in these pages.
   
   
6. Behavioral Manipulation. One thing Freud did do was take the history of the individual seriously. That is, he wanted to know the actual experience of the person. That is no longer the case with behavioral theories of psychology. Stimulus-response is the focus. You stimulate the person to get the response you want, what happens between the ears in the mind is not important. The modern corporation has developed the use of methods of behavioral psychology to a high art in advertising to manipulate the minds of Americans. We are now witnessing part of the result of a consumerism gone wild and pushed to such excess that without constant and increasing shopping by Americans the economy has gone into crisis. The extensive effort of the modern business corporation to manipulate the Deep Culture of American society now must become an issue for debate within the politics of the country. Business should not have such complete access to the internal functioning of the human mind which we must now understand can be manipulated and severely abused by institutions of society. The church abused its authority over human beings in the middle ages, modern business is doing it today. We need a modern Reformation, but this time against those institutions oppressive of and which seek to terrorize human consciousness. This must be part of the discussion of Deep Culture in our time and prospects for social democracy.
   
   
7. Left-Over Religion. There are many, many people in the United States who were raised in some form of Christian faith but have left the church behind. But they have not left behind certain habits of thought and expression, or underlying assumptions, associated with Christian doctrine. Some of these can be associated with the basic doctrine of the trinity, God as creator, redeemer, and continuing spirit in the world. People want to know where they come from, so there continues to be a search for origins in science, for example. There is a need for some source for redemption after things go wrong. There is a need for some sense of a living "spirit" that holds things together and makes life and relationships possible. In many and various ways substitutes are put forward for these basic human needs, substitutes which may no longer work. For example, the current economic crisis is said to be a crisis of "faith and confidence," faith in institutional stability, confidence in leaders of business and government, faith that in the end everything will be all right. Business institutions have since Ronald Reagan been allowed to function in ways that have led to fundamental lack of faith and confidence among the American people in their institutions. The Enlightenment Institutions which have replaced the power of the Church have not been able to maintain a level of stability for society that was once believed possible. This is a very serious question for any concept of Deep Culture which has to do with fundamental beliefs of people. The left-over religious faith of secular Americans may now be so fragile it cannot sustain itself or the society. The process of local community social formations which creates personal meanings and networks for people has been so shattered by the individualizing of consumerism that individuals find themselves with few anchors by which they can identify themselves let alone make meaningful choices. Economic globalization is decimating local communities across the country. Some economic historians call this creative destruction, but it is by no means clear what will happen on the other side of economic dislocation unless an adequate political process develops which can make clear choices on behalf of communities. This is one reason we here at this website talk about the "primacy of politics." This politics must have a content which includes a fundamental understanding of what it means to be a human being in the fullest sense, not just in economic terms, but in terms of a social and cultural flourishing which nurtures and sustains human consciousness and creativity in many various and multiple expressions.
   
   
8. Postmodern Reality.
   
   
9. Commercialized Religion.
   
   
10. Neoconservative Illusions.
    
    
11. A New Era of Cooperation and Responsibility. For Obama, George Lakoff says, American values are progressive values: freedom, equality, justice for all. Liberal institutions leading to a free society.