Saruman's Speech

Palantir, and why I'm unlocking "The Persistence of Paganism"

In honor of the utter blathering by the CEO of one of the most pernicious corporations of the world, Palantir, I’ve decided to unlock the latest installment of my series, The Mysteria, for all readers.

Wondering what I’m talking about? Well, go listen to this clip of him lamenting how hard it will be for the West to go to war because of, well, Paganism.

The installment of The Mysteria that I’m unlocking for everyone is called “The Persistence of Paganism.” In it, I discuss precisely this kind of thing, the labeling of every “threat” to Western civilization as “pagan.”

Of course, there’s nothing new about this recent worry over a resurgent or persistent paganism threatening the stability of society. We’ve seen this concern so often throughout the history of both Christianity and Empire that it’s quite possibly an inherent feature of both. Still, it’s fair to ask why paganism seems to have become a large topic again, and why “pagan” seems to stand in for so many disparate and particularly urban ideas.

That this trope is now used as a bludgeon by the head and co-founder of one of the most terrifying intelligence-gathering entities in the world is sign, I think, that we’re going to begin to see this even more.

Still, though, I’m sure the Tolkien fans reading this all are quite amused. Palantir is named after the seeing-stones by which Sauron manipulated the wizard, Saruman. Later, Saruman’s tower was destroyed by Ents (basically, walking trees), which was pretty much the forest rising up against an authoritarian surveillance and industrial regime…

You can read The Mysteria, part 11: The Persistence of Paganism, here: