Technically, Religion isn't a disease. It's "a pursuit or
interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance." in its
broadest sense. It has more in common with the broad definition
of religion than it does to a disease. Planets don't have
cancer. Lifeforms have cancer. A planet is not a lifeform. It
may be referring to the "Planet" but really meaning a
statistical accumulation of all human beings on the planet. Can
there be a cancer that crosses people in groups? There can.
They've found a vaccine for one that passes from human to human.
Cervical cancer is sexually transmitted. Perhaps there is a
valid metaphor to cervical cancer. A plague? No, a plague is an
infectious disease. "An epidemic of infectious disease (medical
or agricultural)" An epidemic is "a widespread occurrence of an
infectious disease in a community at a particular time."
Education is "the process of receiving or giving systematic
instruction, especially at a school or university." and/or "an
enlightening experience." a cure "relieve (a person or animal)
of the symptoms of a disease or condition." One of the most
thorough introductions to how metaphors can both lead and
mislead is here:
[1]
http://www.au.af.mil/.../milreview/paparone_metaphors.pdf A
very common misleading metaphor is to link groups of humans to
diseases or an ideology or process to a disease and another set
of humans or ideology or process to a cure. Also, the man in the
above picture is a fictional character and does not exist. Also,
in the context of the fictional character, he did not say that
in any of his movies. The meme is entirely misleading and yet
very easy to believe without any thought. I could just as easily
say, "Education is a disease and Individualism is the cure". It
would be just as nonsensical as the above meme yet I would find
many who agree and many who disagree
References
Visible links
1.
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.au.af.mil%2Fau%2Fawc%2Fawcgate%2Fmilreview%2Fpaparone_metaphors.pdf&h=aAQHyvvUD
