It seems more than passing strange that here we are, in the 21st century, but all signs are that Amerika is nostalgic for earlier times, when faith in God's intervention (see Paula White) was strong, and science was regarded with deep suspicion.
With measles cases burgeoning and vaccine rates plunging, perhaps that benighted country is expecting some sort of divine intervention to keep them healthy. Consider the latest developments at the FDA, which is under the aegis of Robert Kennedy, Secretary of Heath and Human Services and a notorious vaccine skeptic:
Especially chilling was the dismissive and Orwellian tone of HHS about Marks's departure:
“If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy,” a spokesperson at HHS said.
Undoubtedly, as it embraces theocracy, the Benighted States of America believes it has a secret weapon in God. Consider Paula White, the head of Trump's White House Faith Office. In a recent 'sermon' at a Florida megachurch, White offered
that Trump has been anointed by God, to help Christians shape American culture and change the world.
“Thank you for being there for the president,” she says.
“You have nations to reach. You have territory to take.”
“Here is where the fight begins.”
This 'religion' amplifies a malignancy that is bred in the American bone: U.S. exceptionalism:
This ministry’s followers are some of the 30 per cent of Americans who are said to sympathize with Christian nationalism, an ideology that’s rooted in the belief that the United States enjoys special favour by God, and that seeks to bring religion into every aspect of civil life. Podcaster Bradley Onishi, a noted critic, says the movement favours a specific brand of Christianity worshipping what he calls a “straight white American Jesus.”
Critics say that Christian nationalism is a fervent and dangerous movement that twists the religion to promote authoritarianism. “It’s all about hatred ... a front for racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, misogynist feelings,” Rev. Laurie Hafner, a leader of Mosaic Miami, an interfaith community that advocates for social justice, told the Star.
For non-Americans, this is a particularly threatening mindset.
John Faragher, an emeritus professor of history and American Studies at Yale University .... said the idea that “the Lord Almighty is on our side” is a theme that goes back to the beginning of the idea of America.
For Canada and other countries in the region, the long-standing idea that it is America’s right and “Manifest Destiny” to expand across all of North America is particularly troubling, Faragher said.
Nineteenth-century leaders used Manifest Destiny as a rationale to expand westward, adding Oregon and Texas in 1846 and purchasing Alaska in 1867. U.S. politicians and citizens also used it to call for America to claim control of Canada. Manifest Destiny is an ideology taught uncritically to Florida’s seventh-grade civics students as part of history, in a new textbook issued by Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, and reviewed by the Star.
Politics and religion have always been a dangerous combination, and it is the theme of this entire post. For RFK, it is the religious fervour with which he embraces opposition to vaccines and other medical developments that have saved countless millions. For White, it is a potent weapon to wield against all those who oppose groupthink, collective conformity, and American imperialism.
None of this can end well for anyone.
