“In place of a true-type people, born of and grown on the soil, there is a new sort of nomad, cohering unstably in fluid masses, the parasitical city dweller, traditionless, utterly matter-of-fact, religionless, clever, unfruitful, deeply contemptuous of the countryman and especially that highest form of countryman, the country gentleman…”
― Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West
They say that rats and other animals, when placed in overcrowded conditions, begin to act aggressively and immediately develop tics, anxieties and violent behavior. It is the “iron prison” effect. They fight against each other and no longer cease to work as a cohesive community. They become warlike.
Think of the city layout itself, for example. The hallways and streets are narrow and high, leaving no room for negotiation or freedom of movement. You have the feeling of being funneled from one location to another, like a chicken being moved into a coop by a farmer with a rake. The only rebellion against this oppressive system is criminality. An open mind is a crime in such a narrow, gray world.
Think about this: they never see wide open spaces, grassy fields, expansive rural scenes. Their visual horizons have no depth to them. They are never looking for depth, never looking deeper than the row of reflective windows before them that delivers their own reflection back to them. No wonder they lack a natural curiosity for metaphysical things. Meta means extra, remember. Deeper, in fact.
City dwellers never see the glory of the heavens. They look up and see only pockets of darkness. Even in the light of day, smog obscures their view of the ocean of sky above them. It is hard to appreciate the spiritual glory of the heavens when you are so penned in. It is not that their minds are closed up, but their world is literally closed up.
The city dweller lives in an artificial edifice, for the most part. They are surrounded by concrete, glass, iron and pavement. They run the obstacle course, navigating deftly through their world of man-made objects. Not often do they see the full glory of creation, but only what they themselves have created. It is no wonder they see themselves as gods.
Perhaps this is the reason for their attraction to socialism and leftism. They only see man’s response to the question of life, to the question of time. Everywhere they look they see man’s creation, every which way they turn their head. And so they do not look for God’s wisdom, for God’s Spirit, and are not taught about God by nature.
I think that happens because of the geographical structure of the city, as in, it is all lifeless cement, steel, windows, digital signage, cars, iron, etc. It is divorced from nature, and nature is God’s creation. They are inside the matrix of man’s creation all of the time, and therefore only see man’s creation, and man as God.
The same could be said for the highly educated, or voracious readers of secular literature. They spend all of their time with their heads in man’s creative output, fictions, essays, articles. No exposure to the spirit of the prophetic word or the anointing on scripture, and so no longing for God’s spirit or an encounter with it.
It is also a busy, rushed existence. There is no time for spiritual contemplation or silent meditation. Even in moments of rest, there is a television set roaring away, voiding out independent thoughts as soon as they come. There is no time for wonder in such a constricted and ordered life.
But, to be honest, I think the godless converge in cities because they are seeking to build a great and mighty Babel tower of their own secular ideas. They are aiming to build a new heaven and new earth. The city affords them this opportunity, as it promises unlimited advancement and a big dosage of optimistic fervor. It is already like a city on a hill. They feel halfway there. Soon they will reach heaven, they think.