Bring forth your sacred cows one and all, to stand before the altar of truth. For too long these beasts have been held to such high esteem that no one dare question their validity. Let us knock them off their pedestals one by one so that all may see their true nature.
Every culture throughout history has had their sacred cows, those individuals, prophets, symbols, idols, ideas that have been risen to the realm of such high esteem, respect, that they are treated almost as gods, and deified to such an extent, that mocking them, or even criticizing them is seen as taboo and those who would dare question these cows are subject to such harsh public backlash as minor as harsh words, to physical assault to perhaps even death. People love their damned cows, especially the holy ones, very tasty.
Ever since I was a child, I have been introduced to the sacred cows first from my parents, and television, then from the schools, and churches then from the government. The first rule that we learn as a child is to obey and not question the authority imposed upon us. We are told that when we disobey, punishment is required to make us see the error in our ways and that it is supposedly meant to keep us safe and that it is done out of love. The first sacred cow is our parents. They brought us into the world and they jokingly say, they can take us out. But yeah, we as children depend upon them, we love and we also fear them. We were led to believe they were perfect and could do no wrong, but over time we could see for ourselves that they were not perfect and that being a parent was on the job training, sometimes they got things right, but many times they failed.
As a child your parents and family may introduce you to other sacred cows at an early age, such as the various Gods, prophets, heroes, ancestors, etc, as well as the other various religions, stories and holy books built around these cows. They point out that it is extremely dangerous to mock these sacred cows out of fear that their gods might do you bodily harm or bring death upon the unbelievers depending upon the zeal of their irrational convictions. More likely it is the followers of such religions that would actually cause bodily harm.
Interestingly enough, many parents introduce their children to other sacred cows around the same time, who are meant to embody the “spirit of the holidays” along with other made up sidekicks just to entertain and are not to be taken seriously until after a certain age. As children grow up and realize that Santa was just made up, I’m not sure why they don’t take it one step further and question the validity of the various gods and holy books as well. I am certain that it was fear that kept them from doubting these faiths.
The next level of sacred cows that I was introduced to as a child, came from the state government. All children, by a certain age, are required to attend public schools, unless you have parents either rich enough to send them to a private school or teach them at home themselves. My teachers were the next sacred cow I was introduced to, and we learned there was a pecking order among them. The school board, below them the principal, then the teachers. Their rule was absolute at these institutions. These teachers were our first introduction to the supreme sacred cow of the United States empire. There we were forced to worship beneath the foot of Mammon, pledging allegiance to the American flag, and placing a hand over our heart, to a most sacred cow. We were told this piece of cloth somehow represented our freedoms, that we didn’t yet possess ourselves. In truth this country was not founded upon freedom, but was built upon the backs of slavery, yet the leaders allowed its population to believe in the myth that they were free. The capitalistic businessmen of money and greed being the true rulers over the placated sheep.
It wasn’t until Junior High school that we as students got our first real introduction as to how sacred cows are created. Up until this point, most children were pretty much treated as equals unless we tended to stand out, either by intelligence, or race.
In Junior High, students are first separated into two groups according to gender, in physical education classes. It is in this class that the real pecking order process begins. The PE teacher usually selects the two most physically fit, from among the students and performs the brutal ritual of choosing up sides. This is where the real pecking order begins. Those picked first are higher in rank, and those picked last are on the bottom. These rituals usually seal the fates for many students during the remaining years at public school.
Being one of those kids chosen last, I never learned how to play any sport, we never got our turn at bat, never learned to dribble a basketball, and had no idea what was happening in football. A true caste system was formed and I experienced first hand what it was like to be so unlike the others. From a distance, you can see the patterns.
By high school, the students had been manipulated into forming cliques, based upon the ranks imposed upon them by the empire. Those gifted athletes who were nurtured in Jr High school, became the jocks. They became the first sacred cow, followed by the attractive females who became the cheerleader, the smart kids/rich kids, and everyone else. The school encouraged this ranking order by forcing us to participate in worshipping these new sacred cows in a gathering called a “pep rally” in which we were expected to cheer and clap for these undeserving fools. This is also where we were indoctrinated into learning to hate the other team. Those “other” students that happened to reside in another school districts were now labeled as “the enemy” by our teachers and somehow just by virtue of us attending this particular school, we automatically became “the good guys.” I’m sure this was the way the American empire expected its slaves to become indoctrinated into the system. During high school the first tiers of sacred cows were formed, called the class president, captain of the football team, Homecoming Queen, prom king and queen who were usually associated with sports. It was nothing but a popularity contest and it served only to put the rest of us in our places.
By the time I attended college, those students designated as jocks who belonged to the college team were given special privileges that the rest of the students did not get to enjoy and that included parking, and free tuition. Some of these sacred cows moved on to become the nations next major rank of cow, the professional sports hero, the ones worshipped by men who can only dream to be in their place, making insane anount of money for playing some stupid game. The empire loves these cows because they, like the gladiators of Rome, make money for their various corporate interests and their ability to distract the masses from the true crimes of the state.
After college, unable to find a job, I enlisted in the army and saw the true nature of the sacred cow. It is not a position of greatness, authority, wealth, but something must different. The military in their excellent propaganda, focus upon the young, disadvantaged, men, at the bottom of the pecking order, and promise to make them into a “real man,” a hero, and to have the opportunity denied them in high school to become a “sacred cow” to be respected and worshipped by their peers. A second chance to shine in a way they could never achieve before. And it’s not just the military that think of themselves as sacred cows, but law enforcement officials, firemen, medics, actors. The empire places these cows in an artificial high esteem through propaganda, and movies made about them, yet in reality they are to give the ultimate sacrifice for the war machine, the wealthy, the corporate money makers, the exploiters of other peoples using soldiers to rob the world of their wealth and resources. These sacred cows are the unwitting pawns sent to the slaughter all for the empire. Duped from and early age to be nothing but a pawn. And how are these sacred cows really treated by the government? Many of the war veterans are cast aside, homeless and destitute. Others suffer from drug addiction, PTSD and suicide. The football players who don’t make it to the professional ranks suffer the joint damage and head trauma from playing the game. Did the soldier really fight for freedom when freedom is so easily taken away by our leaders in government? We, so easily duped into sacrificing our freedoms in exchange for security never really had freedom at all.
The most sacred cow of all perhaps is the prophet. Quite ironic in that most prophets at one time opposed the ruling class and spoke of Revolution to overthrow the oppressive tyrants. In time their words were written into religious holy books and in many instances those very words were twisted by the new elite to force their followers to obey and submit. Thus creating the unwitting ultra sacred cow used by empires to control the masses.
Interestingly, the word cattle comes from the French word Chattel, meaning movable personal property or slave. The sacred cow was never meant to live a good life. It was meant to be sacrificed to the empire just like the sacrificial lamb or the scapegoat. The true rulers live behind the scenes, pulling the strings, manipulating the population through corporate propaganda played upon the cable news networks. The power to control the cow is in the empire’s ability to get the sacred cow to believe it is special and important and for the rest of the nation of cattle to worship them.
Perhaps the only way to put an end to exploitation from the empire is to mock the sacred cows, and call them by their true names, SLAVE, or TOOL. To discourage people from becoming these sacred cows in the first place and to realize that we are all slaves and that the real enemy is not other people from different races, religions, or cultures, but instead the true enemy are the rich corporate leaders, religious rulers, kings and the institutions that place them there.
