Blood Rites by Barbara Ehrenreich
Posted: 07 Apr 2014, 20:59
This was an amazing, juicy read by one of my favorite authors. I liked the anthropological take on what I understand as the generalized tenderness taboo across western society. The author talks about war from a matter-of-fact vantage point that identifies long-standing alternatives primally, religiously and culturally. Without our need to continually prove our primal dominance, what would be the ongoing appeal of war, religious rites of sacrifice, and even the consumption of meat? In her truly post-trauma framework for social cohesion and identity, is it possible to consider that the opposite of prey may no longer be predator? When and how will human beings embrace and trust their permanent transformation from vulnerable prey to sentient self-awareness? This was an engaging and thought-provoking read that I would definitely recommend.