MYTHOLOGY

I've just finished a fairly comprehensive book titled MYTHOLOGY by Edith Hamilton.  I'll never forget a 10th grade English unit on mythology and find the whole study fascinating because it explains the stories concocted by Greeks and Romans to explain things.  From the sunflower to the lotus to the constellations, storms, and lightning, everything we see is a result of some divine-mortal interaction.

                  Of course the most famous storyteller in this genre is Homer, who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, codifying these stories into a narrative that is as exciting as any modern thriller.  The romance, vengeance, battles and connivances of the gods and their half human offspring encompasses every emotion and tribulation imaginable.

                  It all got me to thinking about modern mythology.  We moderns, ruled by science, think we're above all this mythological silliness.  That people for centuries actually believed these tales as the explanations for things seems outlandish to us.  And yet as I look at beliefs today, I'm struck by our current mythologies.

                  Imagine thinking a mask could stop a virus.  Imagine thinking factory farmed chickens have nothing to do with bird flu.  Imagine thinking Ozempic is the cure for obesity.  Imagine thinking glyphosate doesn't have any negative residual effect on the land or our food.  Imagine thinking an egg from caged factory chickens is just as nutritious as one from GMO-free pastured birds.

                  The superstitions of our day are no less outlandish than mythology, and yet government policy, the medical community, and most people cling to them cultishly as if they were divinely given. 

                  Isn't it interesting to see how long myths can linger before being discredited?  How long did people think sickness came from spirits?  Galileo and Copernicus were tortured for suggesting our solar system revolved around the sun; their discoveries took 100 years to find credence in academic circles.

                  Look at hydrogenated vegetable oil, margarine, Crisco, anti-microbial soap, DDT and subtherapeutic antibiotic feeding in livestock.  As official USDA policy, we currently believe exterminating bird flu survivors will eradicate the problem.  We believe chemical fertilizers are the only way to feed the world.  We believe 100 U.S. military bases scattered around the world are necessary to keep us safe.

                  We believe the government owning half the west is better than private enterprise.  We believe if neighbors interacted in food choice freedom with each other outside government regulatory oversight we'd fill our hospitals with poisoned people.  We believe government intervention in health care and education are necessary to deliver health and education.  We believe taking the 10 commandments down from our public school classrooms makes better people.  And according to Stacey Abrams, we believe heartbeats of unborn babies are manufactured by nefarious spirits to make women contemplating abortion rethink their position.

                  And certainly we think McDonald's is okay to feed your kids and a quart of Coca-Cola a day is safer than a teaspoon of raw milk.  In our techno-sophisticated modern culture, have we progressed at all beyond the mythology of the ancients?

                  What's your favorite modern myth ?