Cargo Cults and us.

Lately I've been fascinated with Cargo Cults. During WWII, American and British military established airfields on Pacific islands where primitive natives tribes lived. The tribes had no knowledge of manufacturing and saw these wondrous giant birds that landed on their island and delivered gifts of food and technology. When the war ended, the troops left and so did the gifts. Years later, anthropologist discovered that some of these tribes had built elaborate airfields out of bamboo and coconuts to entice the gods back again. You can still see these bamboo control towers and hangers today.

I often wonder if we as Americans live in a sort of Cargo Cult. That what is happening around us is more sophisticated than we can understand. And that we assume certain things are true just by observation and perception. In fact, all of it is an intentional misinterpretation of reality.

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