Ever watch the TV series American Gods, based on the Neil Gaiman book? It tells the tale of a war between the old gods of the ancient land and the new gods of the modern age, god of modern society, Highways, Media, Technology etc.
New GODS are winning because the modern age is winning, New gods get the old gods on their side by offering something other than worship, relevance. There was an episode in season one called Lemon Scented You, where Media portrayed by Lucille Ball played by Gillian Anderson, offering Odin to be represented by a space based weapon system. Vulcan turned sides to the New Gods by being offered to be the name of a gun manufacture as many America worship guns as their new god or at least a totem of traditional masculinity.
If you cannot be worshipped you can at least be culturally relevant.
What does this have to do with America now? Trump has become a new MAGA GOD, why? because Jesus became irrelevant, they still want a savior and someone to lead them to their promised land. But Jesus wants them to do things like love thy neighbor, care for the refugee etc.
No they don't want that, they want a GOD to tell them they can be as disgusting as they want to be, for long time they just did mental gymnastics twisting Jesus to fit that mold until Trump came along. Because JESUS is not American, or likely white for that matter. I studied many beliefs of Native Americans and other indigenous cultures, one thing I see common with their beliefs. Belief systems are all natural and organic, born from their animals, streams and rivers. Christianity in America is not, its a foreign import from an ancient land. that for the past 150 years has been retconned, rewritten and infused with Corporate Capitalism.
It is no surprise that someone like Trump comes along and many run to him, if that is not grooming I don't know what is. Its boomers who want the 1950s Beaver Cleaver Jesus Land Back, except we are almost 1/4 into 21st Century. What we in the future will recognize as the 21st century is being born and so much of that they cling to will have no place in it.
Youth have already walked away as the largest and fastest religious identity among Millennials and Gen Z is NONE, what Trump offers their parents and grandparents is NOTHING they want. Trump was the product of the 1980s Greed is Good Era. Decade when the top rated programs were shows about wealth and power like Dynasty, Dallas and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach, who ended each episode with the line "Champaign wishes and caviar dreams"
For Trump it is "Diet Coke Wishes and Big Mac Dreams" even after this MAGA still needs to create their own personal Trump to cover the reality he is a 76 year old obese man child who consumes fast food. So many bad AI art of Trump as a Astronaut, General, and other professions he could never do because they require oaths he could never abide to and muscles he does not have.
Then I had a revelation, the GOP is the Sign of the Beefcarver of politcal parties and will share the same fate. What am I talking about? This place was a chain of cafeteria style restaruants that now in 2023 only has one location in Royal Oak MI. About 10 years ago I went to the location that was in Dearborn MI on Michigan Ave. Once there I knew this place was not long for this world. I was 36 at the time and the regulars were all my parents age. No one in their 20s ate there, they went the the spicey places down the street., Food also tasted like bland hospital cafeteria food.
That placed closed down in 2018 and was demolished some time later.
Vivek talks about raising the voting age (which will be near impossible) because the 18-25 year olds do not care for their 50s nonsense as the 80s was ancient history to them. Fact is the 2020s are farther away from the 1980s than the 80s were to the 50s. You have to dig deep in the media landscape to even find a channel that plays those old tv programs. In the 80s Leave it to Beaver was on WXOM TV 20 on 1030am, I saw episodes when I was home from school sick. Nick at Nite broadcasted MR ED. Now? Daytime TV is just talk shows, court shows and Nick at Nite has Friends and Mike and Molly on. If a channel plays old tv shows they are from the 80s and 90s now, if they are not playing endless NCIS marathons, a show that has been on CBS for 20 years.
Ronald Reagan rode to landslide victories riding on that Nostalgia Wave, because it was still fresh in the minds of many adults. That generation is aging and giving way to Millennials and Gen Z who do not remember Saturday Morning Cartoons, Music on MTV and the SFX in Star Wars (1977) looks like crap to them.
How do they even expect to bring back the mores and traditions from a era that has even faded into the background of our own media landscape? Even the big media producers try to reboot these same shows and they arrive DOA. "Go Woke Go Broke" the legacy fans cry when they did not like the changes and the youth outright ignore it because they have something new and original that is more relevant to them.
1980s there was a different version of that saying "They had to make it hip for the kids" Well there is nothing the GOP or MAGA has that can make what they have is HIP for the kids. Now back to that bland hospital food restaurant, one show I do watch occasionaly is Bar Rescue, I see so many places with the same Beefcarver problem trying to squeeze money out of aging and dying regulars and doing nothing to get the younger diners in.
Even after Taffer arrives they resist any changes and his biggest one is get the MILLENIALS and now Gen Z in. For the GOP that means listening to them and their needs but still want to serve the same bland menu and play the same old tunes.
Just like the Beefcarver, Gen Z and Millenials are going to eat somewhere else and go out of business and get demolished.
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