One way of being thought wise is to defend current prejudices in glowing and eloquent language so that rhetoric conceals the lack of reasoning power and the failure of sympathetic understanding.
Source: On reverence, by Bertrand Russell
More info.: https://russell-j.com/REVERENS.HTM
* a brief comment:
There are prejudices unique to every era. Of course, prejudices are not fixed; they change in response to social shifts and changes in the media environment. So what kinds of prejudices can we observe in the present day (2025)?
When I asked ChatGPT, it provided the following examples: Contemporary prejudices in Japan:
- The gender bias that claims "women are not suited for leadership or decision-making roles"
- The prejudice that "foreign workers disrupt workplaces due to language barriers"
- The suspicion toward LGBTQ+ people and the belief that "there is too much accommodation" for them
Contemporary global prejudices:
- The resurgence of antisemitism
- Prejudice and hate toward Asian Americans
- Xenophobic rhetoric targeting immigrants and refugees
There are various prejudices held by small segments of society, and such views are often criticized publicly. However, as expressed in "Today's Russell Quote," there are occasionally individuals who passionately and eloquently defend the dominant prejudices of their time, and some people are strongly influenced by them.
Although he has largely disappeared from the media and lost much of his influence, I believe it is fair to say that Osamu Hashimoto was one such "eloquent advocate." In contemporary America, President Trump comes to mind -- but rather than a cultivated orator, he is more accurately described as a demagogue. To put it more sarcastically, Trump plays the role of a gangster boss, while Prime Minister Ishiba resembles a loyal underling who obeys no matter what the boss says.
