Memetic tragedy? How does the book reflect "dark times?"

[Caleb]

Vincent Louis Carrella said in the pre-discussion thread about this book:

Every single page is infused with what was going through me at the time and what was going on in the world - 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombings, the War in Iraq. Them was dark times. It all feels like a dream and that's what Serpent Box is - a dream.

What correlation can you, as the reader, see between the book and these real events? The three specific items that Vincent mentions are all grand tragedies. Is the book a tragedy?

[Richard]

good stuff, i'll chew on that

[Gordon]

I don't want to weigh in on the tragedy question yet, so as not to ruin the ending. But the relation that I see to those real events (as I recall the book) is that people often turn to religion in the face of tragedy or when things happen they cannot explain. They get even more conservative, even fundamentalist, in a desire to return the world to simpler times, to what they perceive as less evil. That if only people would let God into their souls, they could be delivered from all this suffering.

Also, there's misunderstanding on both sides. Some see snake handlers as crazy folk with a deathwish, just like terrorists and suicide bombers, whom others view as martyrs or freedom fighters, trying to connect with their god or send a message on his behalf.