The pied pipers of the right, quite obviously, have convinced a significant number of the masses that unions (not to mention liberals...) are the spawn of Satan. They have tied their demagoguery very effectively to aspects of the American priestly (read the ideologies of the economic elites) civil religion, namely empty notions of freedom and liberty. They have managed to convince the right wing mobilised masses that unions are unfree and trample on individual liberty just as they have convinced them that taxes and the government at large inhibit freedom and liberty (translation: the freedom and liberty particularly of the rich). Quite a trick that I am sure Karl Marx would appreciate.
The liberal form of the priestly civil religion with its version of freedom and liberty isn't as emotive and hence as effective as the right wing civil religion. Playing on emotions, as we know (remember PT Barnum) is a highly effective strategy in mobilising the masses because it turns them into rageoholics. The US still has a prophetic civil religion but it is about as widespread as Quakerism, one of the major streams which fed into the American prophetic civil religion. Given the centrality of conformity in socialisation and what the masses are being socialised into it is likely never going to be widespread. It will always be the "religion" of some intellectuals and bohemians.
By the way, I have been getting a bunch of right wing jacko "ads" on my Facebook page because, apparently, Facebook believes I am one of them. Facebook's algorithms apparently aren't very good at understanding that words are multivocal and cultural. What have I found? I have found lies, damn lies, anger, rageoholism, historical ignorance, arrogance (holier than thouism), an inability to do research in real source material, mass delusion, the demonisation of any perspective that isn't theirs, and vast hypocrisy. If this is a random sample the US is in deep shit. Now know what it was like to live in Weimar before the Nazi takeover. Fasten your seatbelts darlings; it is likely to be a very bumpy ride.
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