Or: the Rand(0) Institute

TorgoX on 2003-07-29T19:11:38

Dear Log,

«The dangers of national divinity scarcely require explanation. Japan went to war in the 1930s convinced, like George Bush, that it possessed a heaven-sent mission to "liberate" Asia and extend the realm of its divine imperium. It would, the fascist theoretician Kita Ikki predicted: "light the darkness of the entire world". Those who seek to drag heaven down to earth are destined only to engineer a hell.»

--"America is a religion": US leaders now see themselves as priests of a divine mission to rid the world of its demons

It doesn't sound like this'll even be one of those hot sex cults, either. Dang.

But maybe I can make some money starting an "Institute", and clean up on corpoerate donations. I'll just have to give it a too-long pretentious name, like "The George Washington National Voters' Free Enterprise Integrity Institute for Good Family U.S. Constitutional Studies of Theology Under God".

$$$ !

Gimme.

---

link?

brev on 2003-07-29T20:32:41

no link, but somehow I guessed that was the Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1007813,00.html

Re:link?

TorgoX on 2003-07-29T23:54:21

Oops, fixed.

Altho you can also get it here!

and

brev on 2003-07-29T21:04:52

I'm feeling cranky today but that "think" piece is retarded. Simplistic view of the USA, supported by random quotes and at most one real event of dubious interpretation anyway.

America is a religious country, and a patriotic country. Consequently a lot of Americans will rationalize their country's behaviour in terms that are religious, or at least reminiscent of religion.

But that wouldn't have stretched to 800 words, I guess.

Re:and

TorgoX on 2003-07-30T00:20:02

I found the article a bit fuzzy too, but best I could make out, Monbiot's idea is that the pseudo-religious rationalizations are taking on a life of their own, becoming excercises in community thoughtlessness even beyond what one wolud expect from popular rationalizations.

But then, I've always thought that Durkeim's notion of religion (which only partially matches the normal meaning of the English word "religion") teetered on referring more to modern nationalism or fascism than to modern religions. Example quote from Durkheim:

"religion is something eminently social. Religious representations are collective representations which express collective realities; the rites are a manner of acting which take rise in the midst of assembled groups and which are destined to excite, maintain, or recreate certain mental states in these groups."

That's from Durkheim's The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life.

Ponder these ideas as you stroll thru the Saint Germain of Dada Silent Contemplation Shrine!