I feel like I remember a time when everything wasn’t “sacred,” but you rarely notice things that aren‘t happening, do you? It seems like 9/11 — and the neocons driving what followed — ushered in a new phase, in which places, events, and people who could be exploited became “sacred.“ After J6, the US Capitol became “sacred,” and now elections are too (and graveyards as well, obviously). To my ear, this is mostly an irritating tic; but to someone who’s, let’s say, Christian and nationalist, the proposition that the Capitol is “sacred” has serious implications. It’s worth remembering that when you hear some pundit or journalist blithely describe something that’s secular — government, buildings, militaries, police, political processes — as “sacred.”