{"id":40947,"date":"2025-04-16T10:00:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T17:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=40947"},"modified":"2025-04-17T07:18:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T14:18:44","slug":"thanks-gad-for-the-spider-wasp-story-ugh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/thanks-gad-for-the-spider-wasp-story-ugh\/","title":{"rendered":"Thanks, Gad, for the Spider Wasp Story – Ugh!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Parasitic Mind by Dr. Gad Saad – My Beliefs about Modern Ideologies and Why:<\/strong><\/p>\n

My belief system stands at the intersection of modernity and postmodernity, shaped by a lifetime of navigating both. As a Gen Xer, I came of age during a period of cultural transition. I absorbed values from an older, more communal world while also stepping into the freedoms and uncertainties of modern life. This duality is central to how I engage with ideologies today: I value progress but am wary of its unintended consequences.<\/p>\n

My worldview didn\u2019t form in a vacuum. It was carved out through personal experience\u2014growing up in a single-parent household after my father\u2019s death, often alone, surrounded by a village of resilient, diverse individuals. There was no blueprint, no perfect nuclear family like My Three Sons<\/em>, and no detailed strategy for coping with loss or instability. Still, I witnessed what resilience looked like. I saw community in action: neighbors looking out for each other, including two kind-hearted gay men, Ron and John, who brought care and warmth into our lives before AIDS took them both. These experiences built my foundational beliefs about family, community, and strength\u2014not from textbooks but from life itself.<\/p>\n

This lived understanding made it clear to me that while ideals such as equality and compassion are worth pursuing, how they manifest matters just as much. That\u2019s where The Parasitic Mind<\/em> by Dr. Gad Saad has been both fascinating and unsettling. Saad argues that ideas\u2014once rooted in virtue\u2014can become parasitic, meaning that they grow in influence while ultimately harming the host. “Well-intended values can morph into something unintended, thus becoming parasitic.”[1]<\/a> Political correctness, for example, began as a call for inclusivity and respect but has, according to Saad, become a form of intellectual censorship. His analogy of the spider wasp is disgusting but effective: an idea that paralyzes thought, slowly devouring the host from the inside out. It\u2019s a poignant image of how ideology can overreach.<\/p>\n

What I Already Knew:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reading Saad confirmed something I already sensed: that truth has become subjective and subordinate to feelings in many areas of postmodern discourse. I\u2019ve seen how difficult it is to speak openly without being misunderstood or labeled. Saad frames this as a direct attack on free speech, and I tend to agree. While I\u2019ve always believed in being considerate and inclusive, I now see how some well-meaning movements can shift into authoritarian territory, demanding ideological conformity rather than encouraging open dialogue.<\/p>\n

Something That Runs Counter to What I Thought I Already Knew:<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the same time, The Parasitic Mind<\/em> challenged a long-held assumption of mine: that postmodern ideologies\u2014rooted in liberalism and progress\u2014were inherently beneficial. I used to think that postmodernity, with all its focus on personal freedom and innovation, represented a step forward. But thinkers like Saad and Patrick Deneen (Why Liberalism Failed<\/em>) have shown me that liberalism can also erode communal bonds and weaken social cohesion if taken to extremes. I hadn’t considered that too much freedom, detached from responsibility or rootedness, might actually isolate rather than empower us.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, I\u2019m not interested in throwing out postmodernism altogether. I\u2019m not a purist or a nostalgic traditionalist. What I\u2019ve learned is that a hybrid model\u2014honoring the best of the past while embracing the wisdom of select modern ideas\u2014is the healthiest path forward. Tradition taught me the value of community and shared responsibility. Contemporary culture gave me the language to explore identity, question systems, and embrace diversity. But both require boundaries. Without guardrails, tradition can become oppressive, and modernity can become chaotic or hollow.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ultimately, my conviction is that ideologies must serve human beings, not the other way around. We must evaluate them not just by their intentions but by their outcomes. Are they helping people flourish? Are they fostering connection and truth? Or are they, like the spider wasp\u2019s larva, consuming us from within?<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s polarized world, it’s tempting to pick a side\u2014tradition or progress, conservative or liberal\u2014but my life has shown me that wisdom often lies in tension. This statement reminds me of a remark that Dr. Jordan Peterson made where he encourag people to challenge chaos head-on. I believe we must hold space for both: for the resilience that comes from hardship and the hope that comes from progress; for freedom of speech and for compassionate dialogue; for tradition\u2019s grounding and modernity\u2019s innovation. The key is discernment, not dogma.<\/p>\n

If we can preserve that balance\u2014if we can think critically, live empathetically, and resist ideological zombification then perhaps we can build a world that is both freer and more humane.<\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Saad, Gad. \u201cDr Gad Saad — The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense.\u201d Video Interview. YouTube<\/em>. Last modified February 21, 2021. Accessed March 2, 2025. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z3xmqn6TT_Y.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid. P.43.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Parasitic Mind by Dr. Gad Saad – My Beliefs about Modern Ideologies and Why: My belief system stands at the intersection of modernity and postmodernity, shaped by a lifetime of navigating both. As a Gen Xer, I came of age during a period of cultural transition. I absorbed values from an older, more communal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3443],"class_list":["post-40947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-saad-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/193"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40947"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41700,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40947\/revisions\/41700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}