Belmont Club: The Ghost Problem

“History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes,” Mark Twain observed. Joe Biden's rebranding of Easter Sunday as the Transgender Day of Visibility can be understood as part of a long line of efforts to replace a religious observance with state-sponsored ersatz. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility.  I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.

These ersatz systems could take the form of state-sponsored atheism, state-mandated religion or even a completely invented replacement cult, like the French Revolution's Cult of Reason. What explains this secular obsession with religion? Henry Kissinger pointed out that the two most powerful forces in history are the Conqueror and the Prophet. "The Middle East has been the chrysalis of three of the world’s great religions. From its stern landscape have issued conquerors and prophets holding aloft banners of universal aspirations. Across its seemingly limitless horizons, empires have been established and fallen; absolute rulers have proclaimed themselves the embodiment of all power, only to disappear as if they had been mirages."

From the historical perspective, there nothing more interesting to "secular" government than religion. China, for example, is officially atheist, but you may join any one of 5 registered faiths. It is sort of like buying a gun. Clearly religion is dangerous. While secular ideologues often say that "religion is based on fear" and empty superstition, they are obviously afraid of religion and it is the first thing they suppress. I call this the "ghost problem." "God? I don't believe in no God," we say with our eyes flitting from side to side. Then how comes you is skeered? The ghost haunts us notwithstanding.

Conquerors and Prophets are among the two most powerful forces in history. The principle difference between the two is the time scale of their message. Conquerors live the lifespan of empires while Prophets exist on the scale of civilizations. Two thousand years later, the Conqueror still fears the empty tomb.

Happy Easter.