The Religion Of The Ignorant

In Ignorantism, one job often chosen by women is secretarial work. Their boss is usually a man, who tends to look for female secretaries. Femininity tends to play a major role here. Potential employees seek to get hired by means of their external appearance, rather than with their competence, knowledge, experience or intelligence.

Bosses tend to select employees who will witness their every move, either at work or at home, with the greatest care. For that reason the secretary, male or female, hears and sees nothing. He or she must have the kind of character that can lie when necessary, but must never lie to the boss and must demonstrate the highest loyalty. In normal life, people are unwilling to witness a deception and remain silent, or even become a party to it. When the same happens within the boundaries of the workplace, however, the Religion of the Ignorant regards this as part and parcel of the job. This aspect of being a secretary is a moral requirement of the profession in community of the ignorant. Nobody finds it strange.

Secretaries gain the boss's trust by ignoring his secret dealings in the workplace, even sometimes with regard to his own family. They share with the boss common attitudes toward everyone outside. Secretaries also put on a show with the boss for the outside world. His going on business trips, his outside meetings, and the salary he earns are all elements for display.

Other jobs like marketing, sales or reception are other trades based on show. Bosses inspect candidates in meeting rooms and monitor their reactions by making vulgar and crude jokes. Not showing an adverse reaction is a plus.

Some of the attributes sought in jobs like these, which involve dealing with many different people, include an ability not to blush in the face of other people's words or behavior, keeping one's cool, never taking things to heart, and even suggesting that one enjoys such things. The character of staff who make closing sales is particularly well suited to this; and is a requirement of the sales staff's work ethic. Vulgar personality traits such as shamelessness, insensitivity and lack of character are all part of the work ethic of Ignorantism. Among believers, on the other hand, that ethic promotes superior moral values such as dignity, seriousness, honor and nobility.

Passion constitutes the bedrock of the behavior required in the workplace in the Religion of the Ignorant. A burning desire to earn money, a passion to lead, or a passion for fame are highly regarded. That's why a materialist atmosphere to a large extent pervades workplaces. All behavior and attitudes, all conversation, are aimed at obtaining money and position. Employees have specific duties and positions. Everyone conforms to the mould of their own job description. The general behavior of most employees is ruled by giving the appearance of being very busy, irritable behavior, a tense expression and haste.

The Ignorantist boss speaks and behaves with the ease imparted by being the proprietor or the one who hands out wages. He can shout at, insult or humiliate the person in front of him. He is the one who hands out money. He needn't show the same respect to those beneath him as he does to others. He does, however, expect great respect to be shown to him. Those under his command must put up with everything he does. There is a kind of slave logic in the relationship between employer and employee. The boss imagines that he has freedom to behave however he likes to anyone whose salary he pays, and to address and use him as he chooses.

Business terminology is employed even in normal office conversations. In foreign countries, English terminology from the profession concerned is constantly employed—appropriately or not and whether the other party understands or not—as a means of putting on airs. There are even ways of holding the telephone. Disapproving of one another's work and constantly correcting it in a know-it-all way are widespread among employees. There is intense internal office gossip. Longstanding employees know all one another's deceptions, but hesitate to bring them out into the open because they fear that their own misdeeds will similarly be dragged into the light of day.

Everyone loads pressure onto newcomers, acting as know-it-alls and treating them as beginners, and constantly watching for their mistakes. Someone who's been employed for only two weeks tries to lord it over the brand-new employee. Longstanding workers give newcomers advice on all sorts of matters, necessary or otherwise, and try to make their superiority felt on all matters. Sometimes there can be disputes between different departments in the workplace. People show off by saying, "I have sorted that job out," and try to give the impression of being highly competent.

The prevailing psychology in such workplaces as shops, stores and boutiques is no different. Shop staff tend to act as if they owned the store, even though none of the goods in it actually belong to them. That stems from the state of mind wherein everyone else is buying and they are selling. Employees experience the burden of being there only as sales staff. If they perceive that the customer is not well-off, they show them goods as if throwing them down, in an uninterested and cold tone of voice, and exhibit a constantly irritated air. They first try to be courteous, but if they feel that the customer is unwilling or unable to buy what they want to sell, immediately they become rude and begin ignoring the customer, talking to their friends or staring outside. They give rude answers, as if the customer is imposing on their time. In workplaces of this kind, time generally passes in hollow and pointless dialogues, watching the outside world through the window, and gazing at oneself in the mirror.