Pro consumerism propaganda, makes us see a “fan” as a sane, innocent version of a fanatic. “Hobby,” instead of some enjoyable activity, today defines an obsessive habit.
You see being a collector, a fashion addict, a “geek” as something normal, right? Even when you know that all the non-biodegradable toxic waste you generate just for “being fashionable” ends up in your food (the plastic and batteries of all your old smart-phones, for example) you still feel there's something wrong with you if you don't go in the same direction as the others, don't you?
I still believe that capitalism is not a bad system, because it's not capitalism but fanaticism the origin of consumerism. In no case fanaticism is sane. Innocent “fans” have been the bricks of all empires built throughout the history of mankind. And empires always imply slavery.
What is fanaticism, then? Also known as “fascism” or “religion”, fanaticism is apathy, laziness, in the sense of not being willing to accept responsibility for our true point of view, which is the one elaborated by our own intellect and based mainly on our own knowledge and experience. In short, fanaticism is what we have left when we refuse to think. If it exists in this life, in this world, something we can call “independence” or even “freedom” it's what we get through our own honest thinking. Fanaticism means to renounce that independence and freedom in favor of a false sense of comfort and security.
©2017 - Walter Alejandro Iglesias