The Religion Of The Ignorant

In Ignorantism, people learn to give the appearance of loving when they actually hate, of being uncaring when they actually love, of being sad when such is not so, of rejoicing when this is untrue, of laughing or crying when doing so is insincere, and of being astonished when they really feel no reaction at all. They also do all these things in light of the prevailing circumstances.

Since the people around them also possess the same mindsets, they see nothing amiss with falsity and insincerity, and regard them as natural. When their turn comes, they don't hesitate to display the same insincerity and false character. Various forms of insincere speech include:

Adopting an exaggerated style to attract greater attention when describing events,

Portraying something banal as something important, and something important as if it were banal,

Making it clear that one knows foreign languages by sprinkling one's speech with foreign words, even when perfectly adequate equivalents in the mother tongue are available,

Behaving as though one had considerable knowledge of the subject being discussed even though one has little actual familiarity with it, and adding something one may have heard about the subject to give the impression that one enjoys a wide mastery,

Displaying artificial and exaggerated reactions even though one is utterly unaffected by the subject under discussion, and uttering words that indicate condemnation, sorrow, agreement or support, even though one actually feels none of these. An example would be using parrot cries like, "I don't believe it!" or "I'm flabbergasted," even though one is not the least bit surprised.

Most of this is not sincerely felt. In fact, the listeners are usually well aware that these words are all false. What matters, however, is for these patterns to be used expertly. Insincerity and hypocrisy have become so normal in the Religion of the Ignorant that even if someone does speak honestly and appears sincere, that is referred to as something extraordinary. In circles that live by Ignorantism, people succeed in society to the extent to which they succeed in hypocrisy. Looking at a great many who have come to be admired in society, you can see their expertise at implementing these rules. Men use insincere speech as a means to further their business careers, and women as a means of showing off among family and acquaintances. Their husbands' positions, how their children are doing at school, their wealth, social relations and activities are all duly exaggerated out of all proportion. The following are examples of insincere speech:

Forced laughter at another person's jokes, because it would seem bold not to, or to play up to that person or to curry an advantage from him, even though one actually finds nothing funny at all; adopting an exaggeratedly arrogant style when angered, and using one's tone of voice to make that irritation apparent.

Hollow and Pointless Speech