Chapter IV (Publimartyrium) P1
Man innately searches for proof that he is sufficiently good, that he is acceptable in the eyes of his society, that he doesn’t need to feel inadequate in comparison to anyone else. Today this yearning for, and achievement of, general smugness is structurally embedded within the culture surrounding us. People of no particular distinction except for their willingness to renounce privacy and embrace buffoonery, are brought under the persistent gaze of a public hungry to feel superior. In their buffoonery these poor souls help to assert the normalcy of every individual as relative to the caricatures which they become; and in their absolute exhibitionism they reveal their flawed characters which, in their inevitable, and eagerly anticipated falls from grace, become material for society to affirm its worthy superiority in hearty denunciation. These people -who can be watched by everyone- provide nothing to look up to, their sacrifices offer nothing which elevates the soul but only that which elevates the viewer’s ego.
These pathetic tragedians are the direct opposites of our saints, martyrs and hermits. Their sacrifice and suffering, when conveyed to the community, provided exemplary models of virtue in the face of which any man could not help but feel unworthy. The stories of our martyrs would affirm the incredible potential inherent in every person; they were the material with which society would remind itself that there are those elevated beyond the quotidian.
We wish to re-balance man’s view of himself, to once again offer him examples of human extraordinariness rather than mediocrity. Rather than only tell stories about martyrs who die in distant lands (often many years ago), rather than only speak of hermits who have renounced the pleasures of the world in some unknown desert; rather than just this, let us bring lofty piety into man’s vision, so that he may watch it in real-time, and be as transfixed with sublime sacrifice as he is with pitiful buffoonery. Let us use absolute exhibitionism to reveal strength and flawlessness, rather than greed and stupidity.
We propose the creation of a new order of living martyr, whose life shall be one of public suffering and sacrifice. They will be immolated in the public gaze, and be hereby known as Publimartyrs.
