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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Minores Deos in Pantheon Saecularium Religio Statism

It's not exactly news that New York's mayor Bloomberg now wants to ban sugary drinks larger than 16 oz. I just read a post at Economic Policy Journal that explains some of the reasons why this is such a dumb idea. Something stood out to me as I read the blog:
Last time I looked in the Bible, I found no mention of  Bloomberg. I didn't find his name mentioned in the Koran either. So I am pretty sure he is no ones [sic] god.
It reminded me of a show I watched on PBS. I know, it's my own damn fault for watching PBS, but former congressman and vice chair of the 9/11 commission was discussing the commission's published report. The discussion itself was so boring that I honestly don't remember much from it. The one part that did catch my attention was when Lee Hamilton said: "Democracy is a civil religion in America... And this is good."

I was quite surprised he would admit the existence of this secular religion. I was not surprised, however, that he approves of it. In affirming the statist religion he makes himself a minor deity in the secular pantheon.