Back in the days of innocence, before the advent of serious science, immaterialism was just the playground of mystics and philosophers. It was not until the rise of modern materialism, post-Darwin, that immaterialism took on its present status of being untouchable. It now resides well beyond the intellectual pale. Why such disdain?

It is as if the Greek Council had held a secret meeting and decided to blackball immaterialism. If you go back to find the minutes of that meeting, you will be disappointed. If in the old village you go around asking what sin was committed by the outcast woman, you will be met first with puzzled expressions or icy stares, and later with threatening gestures. There are some questions you just don't ask, particularly behind the ivied walls.

I have had twenty years to contemplate the sins of immaterialism. I have concluded that immaterialism represents the ultimate threat to the modern mind. It is feared to the degree that it cannot be measured, cannot be analyzed. It is the only thing that can truly go bump in the night, indeed it is the shadow of the modern mind.

One might suppose that with all this notoriety, immaterialism would have an underground cult following. If there is such a cult it is well concealed. Postmodernism has the makings of such a cult, however it seems bound to spend most of its deconstructive energies upon itself.

There is a reason why the postmodernists avoid straying beyond their own little ivied playpen. Outside those walls lurks a 500 pound Gorilla. We speak of my fellow travelers, the yahoo Christians. Here are some folk weaned on anti-intellectualism. They would love nothing better than to see the intellectuals deconstruct their own ivory towers. They could laugh when the pundits and columnists get egg on their faces.

But in those ranks there are cooler heads which realize that after half a millennium of coexistence, the collapse of modernism would set off a tsunami that would rush against their own shores as well. These folk may not belong to a fraternity, they may not have a secret handshake, all of this could easily operate at the level of gut instinct, even with the most rabid of yahoos.

I did not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out any of this. I only needed to be foolish enough to tread where the angels feared to go. And what is to be gained by playing the fool? So far apparently nothing. Perhaps I should be content with my private little insights gained along the way. But my original intent was to discover truth and tell about it. There has always been that evangelical subtext. I know that eventually the truth will come out, but that is not enough. Patience has never been strong with me. Too much hangs in the balance. There will never be the perfect time to fight this battle. The longer we postpone the truth, the greater will be the unknowns. If there is an opportunity to take bold action, even risky action, then it should not be wasted. If in the meantime a more moderate path can be found, then fine.

.

| Contents |

rev. 5/21/97