What is Ideology? my own thoughts on the subject after reading Bert Oliver's recent article

                                                          Slavoj Zizek telling us why we should embrace indigestion problems with gusto to promote the revolution (joke)

"One might say that ideology is made up of the bits of fantasy that fill in social reality to “smooth it over”, that is, to make it seem as if everything fits together seamlessly, even if, without the bits of “fantasy glue”, it would not appear to be as palatable at all"  What is Ideology? written by BERT OLIVIER http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/bertolivier/2015/06/11/what-is-ideology-2/

It surrounds us constructs us cloaks our mental and physical selves and yet only the symptom of its affects are ever seen in our lives. Ideology is like the invisibility cloak in the famous Harry Potter books things are achieved because of it but it never acts in itself. In my view ideology is parasitic in nature feeding off reality and humanity like a mushroom sucking nutrients from a tree that is in turn dependent on its own roots buried deep within the soil.

Slavoj Zizek mentioned how he specializes in studying in the gaps, cracks and crevaces in the human physche and analysizing our everyday surroundings. Which seems appropritate as ideology functions possibly best out of sight or if thats not possible right before us but masked in some way by power relations, cynicism and lies. One can easily think of an example like modern politics, were we know we are buying into an empty false lie but the convincing and prevailing cynicism of the right wing government hooks into us by playing us off against our own selfish unmet desires, tax cut anyone? 

Like a liberal new age lover ping ponging back and forth between two or more people ideology is a hot potato and we are the object being juggled, the scorched hands competing views symbols and prejudices swirling in our heads. And yes not unlike a vast range of things in the world ideology does not want to be discovered at all and will do its utmost to hide in the shadows remaining a passive meek force while paradoxically once confronted becoming a violent catalyst for actions, that we find ourselves of doing, though we never thought we would be doing such things, not in a million years! 

From my perspective ideology in many ways seems like a sarcastic low-key friend that helps us function - perhaps like a drinking buddy but who is also prone to bouts of violence and instability when people refuse to follow him and annoyingly always go to his favourite bar, sometimes repetition is just so well oppressive haha! ;)

Moss