The Marquis de Sade first suggested it, then Karl Marx stated it as we remember it: religion is the opiate of the people. Back then, it was an accurate statement because religion was the only language of politics. The only language in the pursuit of influence. God’s will, manifest destiny, and so forth. 

Politics is the art and science of gaining influence.

Governance is a process for making choices.

Management is the art and science of getting things done.

Today however, we have learned that anything that is used to gain influence becomes an opiate. Economics, science, healthcare, education,.. et cetera. Nothing is safe from the influencers need for attention and power. And who would claim that there is a difference between an influencer on Tic-Tok or a politician in the House of Congress?

The founding fathers were wise enough to try to separate church and state. To separate the process by which we make choices from an opiate that compromises the ability to think clearly. To modernize this concept we must separate influence, as its own goal, from the state. Create a barrier between those who are only interested in attaining influence and power, and our nation’s ability to process.

We must see the government as a hive-mind and we must protect its integrity and strengthen its functionality the same way we do with our own individual minds.