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Three Lessons in
Radicalization By Gianluigi Gugliermetto 9/18/2025 |
The
word “radicalization” and its cognate verbal forms, such as “radicalized” and “radicalizing,” have been in use for at least the past 25 years. They used to be employed exclusively about young Muslims and in connection to mosques where anti-Western sentiments were preached. Today, their use has seemingly spread to cover all those who, in any way or form, oppose the current trends of Western civilization as a whole. Under such an umbrella, I am a dangerous radical individual, as most of you
readers are as well. |
There is a sense in which I accept the term “radical” for myself, and I see it as a badge of honor. In one of his early works, Matthew Fox was already speaking about “radical” as related to “roots.” Roots — he said — contain within themselves their own growth principle. |
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But what is
intrinsic is also intimate. Therefore — he concluded — it is radical what I cherish as sacred and truly mine. First lesson: there are many important things to do and to say, but — especially in this unique historical moment — I cannot afford to spread myself thin. I must instead go deep and take out of the treasure of my heart what is most
significant and valuable for me, not simply following the crowd of friends or battling the crowd of enemies. Matthew continues discussing how being radical includes self-critique. In no era of the history of humanity has this been a very popular idea, and yet it is a peculiar and invaluable root of what it means to be
human. |
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! speaks with Zeteo editor-in-chief/CEO Mehdi Hasan, who says that the right is using Kirk’s killing to smear the left. | Second lesson: at a time in which every issue is misrepresented and all discussions are fraught with violent intent by those in power and their followers, I must continue to nourish a critical vision of myself and others, an inner discourse that defies by its existence the |
oversimplification which attacks me on every side. Lastly, Matthew explains that all that is radical challenges the people who are attached to a “quantitative answer” to life. This challenge is as old as human society. Since the Neolithic, when it became possible to accumulate and keep agricultural goods, there
have been those who prefer such accumulation to any consideration about what cannot be measured and yet constitutes the inner core of human life, such as affection, art, play, etc. Third lesson: it is not an oddity that my being me is not liked by many others. I am a living reminder that there is more to life than many
think. I should be thankful, rather than upset, about those circumstances in which I am marked as “odd” and “radical.” My kind of radicalization is, of course, nonviolent, which does not simply mean that I don’t attack others physically, but that I make a constant effort to speak to the humanity of my interlocutors, even
when it looks like “there is nobody home.” |
We need to be honest and admit that talking to Trump supporters often feels like talking to robots (of the older generation of robots). But this should not mean that we become like them, just repeating over and over the opposite version of reality. We need to go deeper. |
Former President Barack Obama speaks to the cluster of inflection points that the United States is facing. C-SPAN |
We seem to have reached a point where all our social battles are unified into one: the battle for the soul of humanity, for quality over quantity, for spirit over crass interest and despair. In this sense, the events of last few years have radicalized me, and perhaps you as well. I would be
interested in hearing from readers in which way they feel radicalized, and how is it going for them. Even more, I am curious to hear if anybody has been successful in making somebody radical: that is, (1) helping them recover what matters to them individually and intimately (which can never be any party line); (2) helping them becoming self-critical and, only after that, critical of society; (3) helping them rediscover quality over quantity. |
Queries for Contemplation What lessons do you learn from this most recent tragedy and upheaval in American politics and peoples’ responses
to it? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialogue, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
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