I work for him despite his faults and he lets me work for him despite my deficiencies.
Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a worldview despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses the pitfalls of blind adherence to unprovable beliefs in theology and ideology, leading to detachment from reality.
Bill Moyers emphasizes the dangers of unwavering belief systems in theology and ideology, suggesting that they can create a disconnect from facts and reality. When these two belief systems intertwine, their progeny, though not necessarily harmful, are often characterized by a lack of awareness and understanding of factual evidence, posing a threat to informed decision-making among both voters and politicians.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the importance of critical thinking in politics, this quote could be used to highlight how ideology can impair judgment.
More from Bill Moyers
All quotes →This is the first time in my 32 years in public broadcasting that PBS has ordered up programs for ideological instead of journalistic reasons.
Capitalism is out of control, thanks in no small part to Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision which said that a corporation is a person, even though it doesn't eat, drink, make love, sing, raise children or take care of aging parents. You can't have a people's democracy as long as corporations are considered people.
I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one
Democracy may not prove in the long run to be as efficient as other forms of government, but it has one saving grace: it allows us to know and say that it isn't.
When I learn something new - and it happens every day - I feel a little more at home in this universe, a little more comfortable in the nest.
Similar quotes
What can I say without touching the earth with my hands?
I want nothing less than a faith founded upon a rock, faith in the constitution of things. The various man-made creeds are fictitious, like the constellations Orion, Cassiopeia’s Chair, the Big Dipper; the only thing real in them is the stars, and the only thing real in the creeds is the soul’s aspiration toward the Infinite.
When a man takes an oath... he's holding his own self in his own hands. Like water.
The ecstasy is so short but the forgetting is so long.
American society [...] not only sanctions gross and unfair relations among men, but it encourages them. Now, can that be denied? No. Rivalry, competition, envy, jealousy, all that is malignant in human character is nourished by the system. Possession, money, property--on such corrupt standards as these do you people measure happiness and success.
There are no separate systems. The world is a continuum. Where to draw a boundary around a system depends on the purpose of the discussion.