America’s civil religion is capitalism. Trump’s coronavirus response proves it.
Facing a plague, he wants us to sacrifice at the altar of commerce.
The story recurs in nearly every mythological system: Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to guarantee good winds to sail to the battle of Troy; human sacrifice was an integral part of Aztec religious rituals; Christians hold that Jesus of Nazareth died for the sins of all mankind. In each case, we see the hallmarks of religious sacrifice: Give up the lives of a few to rebalance society.
Enter Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who turns 70 next month and who told Fox News’s Tucker Carlson on Monday that, if called on “to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren,” he — and other seniors, the demographic most vulnerable to the coronavirus — would be “all in.”
The god to be propitiated? America’s economy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlo...k-coronavirus/
Move over Jesus the Trump Party has a new Savior.