American Gods

On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 18:14:40 +0100, "David Meadows"
<david RemoveThis @no.spam.here.uk> wrote:

>"David Johnston" <rgormannospam RemoveThis @telusplanet.net> wrote in message
>news:4139f31d.90383127@news.telusplanet.net...
>> Is the title of a Neil Gaiman novel about which I've heard nothing but
>> bad things. However, it isn't a bad premise for how to create super
>> characters. So what do Americans (and other people of the modern era)
>> believe in, these days? What would
>> the spheres of new "gods" be?
>>
>> Gadgetry
>> National Defense
>> Space Exploration
>> Guardian Angels
>> UFOs
>> Wilderness preservation
>> Organised Crime
>> Celebrities
>> The Stock Market
>
>It think it could be much more easily summed up in three:
>
>Wealth
>Fame
>Power
>
>The three spheres have some overlap, of course, but between them they
>encompass everything else that people worship.

Really. And under which of those categories does the environmentalism
of a typical tree-hugger come?

Besides, I'm not looking for all-encompassing spheres but rather
distinctive spheres.
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

I'd say right now in America 'Reality TV' is worshipped as a god.
Definitely not by me though.
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

"David Johnston" <rgormannospam.DeleteThis@telusplanet.net> wrote in message
news:413b4e3c.179259486@news.telusplanet.net...
> On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 18:14:40 +0100, "David Meadows"
> <david.DeleteThis@no.spam.here.uk> wrote:
>
> >
> >It think it could be much more easily summed up in three:
> >
> >Wealth
> >Fame
> >Power
> >
> >The three spheres have some overlap, of course, but between them they
> >encompass everything else that people worship.
>
> Really. And under which of those categories does the environmentalism
> of a typical tree-hugger come?

What, exactly, does the environmentalism tree-hugger worship?


--
David Meadows
"We're like a poorly-oiled machine teetering on the brink
of a breakdown." -- Fred, Heroes #19
Heroes: a comic book www.heroes.force9.co.uk/scripts
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 23:19:01 +0100, "David Meadows"
<david DeleteThis @no.spam.here.uk> wrote:

>"David Johnston" <rgormannospam DeleteThis @telusplanet.net> wrote in message
>news:413b4e3c.179259486@news.telusplanet.net...
>> On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 18:14:40 +0100, "David Meadows"
>> <david DeleteThis @no.spam.here.uk> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >It think it could be much more easily summed up in three:
>> >
>> >Wealth
>> >Fame
>> >Power
>> >
>> >The three spheres have some overlap, of course, but between them they
>> >encompass everything else that people worship.
>>
>> Really. And under which of those categories does the environmentalism
>> of a typical tree-hugger come?
>
>What, exactly, does the environmentalism tree-hugger worship?
>

Why his idealised pastoral vision of the world.
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

tystates RemoveThis @pennswoods.net (Ty States) wrote in message news:<f77058d0.0409051548.740fdd1 RemoveThis @posting.google.com>...
> I'd say right now in America 'Reality TV' is worshipped as a god.
> Definitely not by me though.

Then what of Matt, the stooge in The Joe Schmo show? Is he a false
prophet? Or an ultra powerful icon/avatar/god because he is the only
real person there?
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

On 6 Sep 2004 09:38:29 -0700, nini_pad.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com (michael price)
wrote:

>tystates@pennswoods.net (Ty States) wrote in message news:<f77058d0.0409051548.740fdd1.TakeThisOut@posting.google.com>...
>> I'd say right now in America 'Reality TV' is worshipped as a god.
>> Definitely not by me though.
>
> Then what of Matt, the stooge in The Joe Schmo show? Is he a false
>prophet? Or an ultra powerful icon/avatar/god because he is the only
>real person there?

More of a Saint of Reality

-----
"There'll be someone else sitting here for Comedy Central.
And that person... or woman... will have to face the fact
that this is the network built on... South Park."
- Craig Kilborn, The Daily Show
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

rgormannospam.RemoveThis@telusplanet.net (David Johnston) wrote in message news:<4139f31d.90383127.RemoveThis@news.telusplanet.net>...
> Is the title of a Neil Gaiman novel about which I've heard nothing but
> bad things. However, it isn't a bad premise for how to create super
> characters. So what do Americans (and other people of the modern era)
> believe in, these days? What would
> the spheres of new "gods" be?
>
> Gadgetry
> National Defense
> Space Exploration
> Guardian Angels
> UFOs
> Wilderness preservation
> Organised Crime
> Celebrities
> The Stock Market

Geez, are you all Europeans or something? You missed one of the
biggest gods America has - Automobiles.

Related to Automobiles would be Highways/Roads and possibly
Freedom- not in the fuzzy "Mom and Apple Pie" patriotism, but in
a more primal "Don't Tread on Me, I'm going to go where I want,
do what I want, and kill anyone who tries to stop me" fashion.
It's directly aopposed by Morality, and is one of the things
keeping America from becoming anohter Iran.
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

Eric Tolle wrote:

> Geez, are you all Europeans or something? You missed one of the
> biggest gods America has - Automobiles.

Most fish do not notice water.

--
ZZzz |\ _,,,---,,_ Travis S. Casey <efindel RemoveThis @earthlink.net>
/,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ No one agrees with me. Not even me.
|,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'-'
'---''(_/--' `-'\_)
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schaduw.TakeThisOut@silcom.com (Eric Tolle) wrote in message news:<d07ba801.0409081237.54003a55.TakeThisOut@posting.google.com>...
> rgormannospam.TakeThisOut@telusplanet.net (David Johnston) wrote in message news:<4139f31d.90383127.TakeThisOut@news.telusplanet.net>...
> > Is the title of a Neil Gaiman novel about which I've heard nothing but
> > bad things. However, it isn't a bad premise for how to create super
> > characters. So what do Americans (and other people of the modern era)
> > believe in, these days? What would
> > the spheres of new "gods" be?
> >
> > Gadgetry
> > National Defense
> > Space Exploration
> > Guardian Angels
> > UFOs
> > Wilderness preservation
> > Organised Crime
> > Celebrities
> > The Stock Market
>
> Geez, are you all Europeans or something? You missed one of the
> biggest gods America has - Automobiles.
>
> Related to Automobiles would be Highways/Roads and possibly
> Freedom- not in the fuzzy "Mom and Apple Pie" patriotism, but in
> a more primal "Don't Tread on Me, I'm going to go where I want,
> do what I want, and kill anyone who tries to stop me" fashion.
> It's directly aopposed by Morality, and is one of the things
> keeping America from becoming anohter Iran.

Guns. This, I think, could be a distinct sphere in the USA.
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

"Brandon Blackmoor" <bblackmoor.DeleteThis@blackgate.net> wrote in message
news:2qbgvhFt89nhU1@uni-berlin.de...
> Prince Charon wrote:
> >
> > Guns. This, I think, could be a distinct sphere
> > in the USA.
>
> I think the gods of Guns and of Automobiles would both be subordinate to
> the god of Independence, which i think is one of the driving myths of
> the USAmerican culture. And the god of Independece is, of course,
> directly oppose by the god of Control, whose worship has slowly expended
> over the past century or so, while the worship of Independence has
> become increasingly marginalized.
>
> The gods of Guns and Automobiles are also enemies of the god of Control,
> which of course seeks to control, and thus destroy, them.

But the god of Automobiles has enslaved himself and his followers to the god
of Oil, who is an agent of the god of Control.


--
David Meadows
"We're like a poorly-oiled machine teetering on the brink
of a breakdown." -- Fred, Heroes #19
Heroes: a comic book www.heroes.force9.co.uk/scripts
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

Brandon Blackmoor wrote:

> Prince Charon wrote:
>
>>
>> Guns. This, I think, could be a distinct sphere
>> in the USA.
>
> I think the gods of Guns and of Automobiles would both be subordinate to
> the god of Independence, which i think is one of the driving myths of
> the USAmerican culture. And the god of Independece is, of course,
> directly oppose by the god of Control, whose worship has slowly expended
> over the past century or so, while the worship of Independence has
> become increasingly marginalized.

Counter-intuitively, most of the strongest apparent proponents of
Independence are quite in favour of exercising control over others.
They'd like all the independance for themselves I guess :>

--
Corey Murtagh
The Electric Monk
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur!"
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

"Eric Tolle" <schaduw.DeleteThis@silcom.com> wrote in message
news:d07ba801.0409081237.54003a55@posting.google.com...
> rgormannospam.DeleteThis@telusplanet.net (David Johnston) wrote in message
news:<4139f31d.90383127.DeleteThis@news.telusplanet.net>...
> > Is the title of a Neil Gaiman novel about which I've heard nothing but
> > bad things. However, it isn't a bad premise for how to create super
> > characters. So what do Americans (and other people of the modern era)
> > believe in, these days? What would
> > the spheres of new "gods" be?
> >
> > Gadgetry
> > National Defense
> > Space Exploration
> > Guardian Angels
> > UFOs
> > Wilderness preservation
> > Organised Crime
> > Celebrities
> > The Stock Market
>
> Geez, are you all Europeans or something? You missed one of the
> biggest gods America has - Automobiles.
>
> Related to Automobiles would be Highways/Roads and possibly
> Freedom- not in the fuzzy "Mom and Apple Pie" patriotism, but in
> a more primal "Don't Tread on Me, I'm going to go where I want,
> do what I want, and kill anyone who tries to stop me" fashion.
> It's directly aopposed by Morality, and is one of the things
> keeping America from becoming anohter Iran.

Plus...
Computers
Internet
Videogames
Democracy
Conservistism
Liberalism
Freedom (needs to be listed twice IMHO)
The American Dream
After 9-11... Vengence
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods 

EMonk wrote:
>
> Counter-intuitively, most of the strongest apparent proponents of
> Independence are quite in favour of exercising control over others.

What would religion be without hypocrisy?

bblackmoor
2004-09-12
 >> Stay informed about: American Gods