"Send lawyers, guns, and money, the shit has hit the fan." _Warren Zevon 1978.
The triumvirate of male dominance has changed little in thousands of years, except that in modern nations lawyers have taken over the role of priests as the justifiers of male subjugation of the population.
The Secular Top Male and his hierarchy
Modern Top Males depend on the secular equivalent of ancient priests: lawyers make up the top tier of the male hierarchy. In the United States, a Top Male who is running for an elected office is expected to claim that his CEO is the Judeo-Christian god, but we are a nation whose culture myth is all about wealth, and the ritual obedience to a supernatural Top Male on the part of politicians is pro forma. Those who persist in the archaic belief that a supernatural god is our Top Male, have in reality joined the secular battle for power, which requires lawyers and money: American churches have become as venal as any corporation.
Modern Top Males depend on the secular equivalent of ancient priests: lawyers make up the top tier of the male hierarchy. In the United States, a Top Male who is running for an elected office is expected to claim that his CEO is the Judeo-Christian god, but we are a nation whose culture myth is all about wealth, and the ritual obedience to a supernatural Top Male on the part of politicians is pro forma. Those who persist in the archaic belief that a supernatural god is our Top Male, have in reality joined the secular battle for power, which requires lawyers and money: American churches have become as venal as any corporation.
The lawyer as shark is a common theme, although this image could apply to American culture in general.
