
“Thoughts and Prayers” in Greek Tragedy (2017) - diodorus
https://daily.jstor.org/thoughts-and-prayers-in-greek-tragedy/
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kenbolton
Two of my dearest friends–people who could not be more dissimilar
otherwise–teach ethics using, in particular, Greek Tragedy. One is an Army
ethicist, the other a Shakespeare scholar who teaches ethics to business
undergrads. The latter convinced me to take an undergraduate course on the
tragedies, and it was likely the most impactful class on my personal and
professional life. I return to Aeschylus regularly to understand the world
around me.

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Jedd
I'd either simply been oblivious to the phenomenon, or had blocked it out, but
Ricky Gervais' comment back in 2013-05 highlighted it:

"@MTVNews: Beyoncé, Rihanna & Katy Perry send prayers to #Oklahoma
#PrayForOklahoma

"I feel like an idiot now...I only sent money."

Since then I've assumed everyone using the phrase was being ironic, or at
least tacitly acknowledged the absurdity and insincerity of it.

