The Captain America Complex

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As immediate as today's headlines, this book presents a bold argument with significant implications for political life in America and globally. Combining cultural analysis and religious insight, the authors assert that American crusading, reflected in popular entertainment, parallels Islamic jihad and Israeli militancy. They argue that American civil religion encompasses both a humane tradition and a violent strand now emerging. The crusade to eliminate evil stems from a biblical tradition of zealous warfare and nationalism akin to Islamic and Israeli radicalism. In America, this tradition is popularized through superhero narratives, infusing zealous war with a unique mission that draws on both secular and religious imagery. These ideals manifest in historical events like the settling of the western frontier, the World Wars, the Cold War, and the ongoing war on terrorism. The authors delve into the tradition of zealous nationalism, exploring its psychological underpinnings and addressing topics such as conspiracy theories, enemy stereotyping, the mystique of violence, and national symbolism. However, the book also offers a constructive perspective, highlighting that the same biblical tradition supporting crusading mentalities critiques zealous warfare and advocates for impartial justice. This prophetic realism is traced through American history, notably in the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. The vision of transforming "swords into