QotD: Fnord

Okay, class, it's time for a review.

A "fnord", in case you've forgotten (or never knew) is a special symbol that, as Discordian teachings would have it, gets inserted in magazine or newspaper articles, or in radio or television programs, by our Secret Rulers (you know who they are), to alarm and terrify the population at an unconscious level, setting off a very carefully preconditioned urge to hurry to government authority for safety and comfort.

Discordian? A belief system, a comparatively new one, introduced by Greg Hill, Kerry Thornley, Robert Anton Wilson, and Robert Shea, with a surprising number of adherents, based on worship of — or at least a healthy respect for — Discordia, the ancient Roman goddess of confusion.

Known even better by her Greek name, Eris (her devotees also call themselves Erisians), she is, at least to me, the deity I'd venerate if I were inclined to venerate deities. Symbolically, Eris embodies an idea I find highly worthy of contemplating, that in chaos, there might just be room for a little freedom. Discordians tend to be anarchists at heart. The most dedicated among their number don't even care for the idea of natural law, because they feel that it cramps their style.

L. Neil Smith, "Islamofnordism", Libertarian Enterprise, 2007-07-15