by James Howard Kunstler
Kunstler.com
You understand, of course, that Western Civ’s mass formation psychosis, like a horror movie franchise, requires the constant re-invention of its monsters and hobgoblins, and a constantly refreshed arsenal of weapons to defeat them. Covid is our mutating monster, but Big Pharma’s silver bullets and wooden stakes have proven quite lame. So, the resourceful superhero, Dr. Fauci (“The Science”), has induced his magic messenger, Santa Claus (a.k.a. the FDA), to deliver two brand-new light-sabers to humankind to keep millions of disordered minds churning with hope of slaying the object of their fear.
Enter stage-right-and-left: Paxlovid from Pfizer and Molnupiravir from Merck. The names alone sound like mysterious invocations from a druidical rite of redemption. How many times have you muttered Mol-Nu-Pir-a-Vir opening the fridge in hopes of finding at least one last beer tucked away behind the mayonnaise and miso?