America is not an island. This is becoming increasingly more obvious as America is being forced not only into the economic exchange of the world as a whole, but also the cultural, intellectual, and philosophical exchanges of the world. And, to boot, the rest of the world is evolving to a place where, at one time, only America stood.
The particulars of current, localized events are irrelevant here. Specific issues and specific players of today's world will, of course, fade away. As such, in the future, we may find America slowly losing its world-wide power for the same reason many nations and cultures lost their grip on world-wide power: because the true division between cultures which succeed and those which fall from success is often the division between those who hold to antiquated, mythical beliefs and those who progress beyond such beliefs.
I am not about to say any individual does not have the right to hold any specific beliefs. I would never claim that there is or is not a God, or higher power if you will, of some sort. Religion and God are two very different things.
That being said, when we look at those who have made the pilgrimage to an expressway underpass in Chicago to worship a salt stain, we see a microcosm of the American belief system. Its humorous when it takes place in an unexpected location (an urban underpass), and when it involves something we generally think of as non religious (street salt). But its really no different than the leaps of faith the religious sector of America takes in everyday life.
We can look at the people gathered in front of salt stain and proclaim such a thing to be, at best, a waste of energy on an individual-by-individual basis. But we, as a culture, can't seem to extrapolate the irrationality to a magnitude of and entire nation.
While certainly being fuel for humor, those who worship a vision of The Virgin Mary in a salt stain aren't necessarily fanatical outsiders. They are, indeed, symbolic of America.
View story at THE VN/VO:
Our Lady of the Salt Stain, Patron Saint of the Future of America
Article comments
1 - RJ
I'm an agnostic as well. I enjoyed your article.
However, you seem to suggest that the US will not remain a major world power as long as it also remains a highly-religious nation. I would disagree with that hypothesis.
The countries of Europe, despite having various state-recognized religions, are largely atheistic. Yet they have seen their global power wane over the years. The US, despite being a very religious society, has seen its global influence rise during the same period.
Now, if we were to become a theocracy (as some wild-eyed kooks on the Left already claim we are), there is no question that we would eventually lose our role as the preeminent world power. But, this ain't gonna happen. Most of the religious folks in America still have a lot of faith in reason, and science, and are basically rational beings. They simply "believe" despite all this.