Psalm 123: Targeting Groupthink
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the perpetuation of the status quo
I love a good turn of phrase; when two random words are conjoined and create a concept that conveys so much more than the sum of its parts.
In Psalm 123:4, there are two such phrases: “the scorn of the complacent” and “the contempt of the haughty”. I feel as if both of these concepts merit thousands of words, if not more, far exceeding the 500 word limit allotted for each commentary.
As always, it is difficult to translate the poetic original, and I usually default to using the JPS translation. For the first phrase: “ha-la’ag” translates to a form of ridicule, mockery, or derision. And “ha-shananim” can be translated as “those who are stable”, “those who are comfortable”, “those who are at ease”, “those who are secure” (or complacent).
It’s easy to judge from a place of comfort, to critique from a couch, or more colloquially, to quarterback on Monday morning.
As I read this phrase, I had two thoughts going through my head. The first is of the iconic 1997 Apple “Think Different” commercial that starts “Here’s to the crazy ones.” And the second is of the oft-used axiom used over decades, “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.”
It is no accident that these two companies come to mind, as Apple’s 1984 commercial introducing the Macintosh was targeting the groupthink epitomized by IBM.
“Fear, uncertainty, and doubt” have historically been the methods used by communities and corporations alike to keep people in line. For example, excommunication leads to uncertainty. Many a rabbinic edict was enacted out of fear of doing something much more severe, until that fear becomes commonplace, accepted, and unquestioned. Like assuming the quality of IBM products in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
It is easier to criticize than to create or to have to choose. It’s even easier to have a predetermined choice made for you.
The second phrase is its “ha-būz” meaning “to hold in contempt” or “to despise”, and “l’geyonim” means “of the proud”. Those who are proud or haughty, hold those they deem below them to be “less than”. It’s a survival technique, to both maintain their own place in the social hierarchy, as well as instilling fear in those of their ranks to keep the rules, in order not to become an outcast of sorts.
The phrases are intertwined. Those who benefit from the status quo feel the need to mock or deride anyone who threatens it. The idea of change threatens the status quo. Those who succeed within a system may even feel pity for those people the system doesn’t accept or recognize. But “pity” is just a synonym for contempt.
Because if someone could survive in the world of uncertainty, then the system itself can collapse. And then a new system, optimized for that type of uncertainty, arises, and as Ecclesiastes writes, the cycle continues.