NP, exactly but echoes AtD - NPR on One Nation Under God
matthew cissell
mccissell at gmail.com
Wed Apr 1 04:17:52 CDT 2015
For those of you that missed it, NPR had a piece on a book called "One
Nation Under God" written by Princeton professor of history Kevin
Kruse. He examines how the phrase made its way onto US currency into
US politcal language and above all the 'Pledge of Allegiance. (You've
heard about that Bellamy guy, right?)
A take away from the piece:
"They use these ministers to make the case that Christianity and
capitalism were soul mates. This case had been made before, but in the
context of the New Deal it takes on a sharp new political meaning.
Essentially they argue that Christianity and capitalism are both
systems in which individuals rise and fall according to their own
merits. So in Christianity, if you're good you go to heaven, if you're
bad you go to hell. In capitalism if you're good you make a profit and
you succeed, if you're bad you fail."
Sound familiar?
Kruse focuses on the 30's and a bit beyond. As such Vibe and his
corporation would be forerunners, albeit fictionally, of what Kruse
documents.
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