We often mistakenly perceive the institution as a physical entity. It seems obvious that it is such given its structure of followers and leaders, rules and regulations. Even so, however, there remains a source underlying such physical manifestations.
Were it not for what we as a people commonly and unwittingly hold to be true or of value, offices, titles, nation-states, religions, etc., would not seemingly exist.
Each particular institution fails to endure forever. It may only last for years or millennia, but they eventually end. This termination of an institution is not merely the crumbling of its infrastructure, or the leader’s fall from power. Rather, the ultimate cause of its termination belongs to a common acknowledgement that x is no longer x. Either x is something else, or x simply no longer exists.
Examples we take for granted
Money
Money is, in my humble opinion, the prime example. The current value of a $100 bill is contingent upon the value we as a collective give it at any moment. It acquired more tangible goods in the past, but less today simply due to our collective acknowledgement.
National borders
Or think of a national border only to be seen on a map. Imagine we decide to drive there. Once there, that border remains visible on the map, yet not visible in reality. The map says the border is there, but we fail to see it materialize once we arrive. Rather than a plot of land split in two by this line found on the map, we see one uninterrupted plane.
Imagine standing on this invisible border watching an insect crawl from behind your heels to the front of your toes. Apparently, it crossed the border. You knew it, but the insect didn’t since nothing obstructed its path.
Still, altogether we continue to claim the border is there. But like the insect, we too could step forward unimpeded yet kidding ourselves that we know something the insect doesn’t. (Perhaps, that insect is smarter than us in this instance.)
In fact, how far will that border shift 500 years from now? Will that border remain on a map in the year 2525?
Probably not. It’s more likely our descendants will see it on an archived map. Perhaps, one of my descendants will write a dissertation on the history of western hemisphere borders between years 2267 and 2285.
In fact, since 1948 we’ve witnessed bloodshed concerning which socially constructed faction has the right to call a particular area a particular name. Is it Israel or Palestine?
Find on a map the Alsace region on the eastern border of France. You’ll find cities with German names simply because the border with Germany shifted repeatedly throughout history. Some of my ancestors grew weary of the ongoing destruction there and eventually migrated to the American colonies by the mid-18th century.
Divine rulers of the ancient past
Here’s another example. Tell somebody in the Ancient Near East 3,000 years ago that his leader isn’t divine. Say you’re from the year 2025 AD. Tell him that his leader isn’t divine, especially since you never heard of him. See how that goes.
These and other examples indicate that as long as we as a collective say something is true, then, gosh-darnit, it’s true.
A means for survival
I hope my digression there will serve what I primarily intend to write moving forward.
When we strive to protect unity, even at the expense of truth, what are we really protecting?
We’re protecting what we collectively hold to be true or of value. Despite our ridiculous attempt to create this presumed reality out of nothing, subjectively it’s not so ridiculous if societal order is at stake. History often reminds us of the tragic consequences that follow the overturning of a religion or the erasure of national borders on a map.
Of course, the realities we create often fall apart. Unfortunately, despite recorded instances of civil disobedience, history reveals massive bloodshed over what is presumably true; i.e., what must be understood collectively to be true or of value.
Never mind what’s objectively true, or, in other words, that which is wholly independent of whatever subjective truth, so to speak, a massive number of minds altogether create and continue to maintain.
In reality, only a few people care about that.