If this is the end of the enlightenment, I have been considering where the "enlightened" go from here.
Maybe it's time to unleash the bigot within us and reconfigure our belief systems into something more pragmatic and flexible.
Let's tolerate the things we like, yet be less giving to that which we disagree with.
For example: The right to choose: Good. The right of teenage boys to wear their jeans below their arses: Bad. The right to vote: Good. The right to vote for George Bush: Bad. That kind of thing.
I'm not a fan of the Fatwa, yet when I heard that the Islamic Fatwa of Malaysia had vetoed the use of Botox, I felt that they may be right, as it's a useless practice and worthy of scorn (although it seems a bit mean considering that it stops devout muslim women from treating the only bit of flesh they get to show—that bit between their eyebrows).
And all credit to the Malaysian government who banned chewing gum, saving themselves the bill of cleaning it off the streets for which "democracies" elsewhere have to divert funds away from the welfare state (£150 million in the UK). And let's face it, no reasonable person agrees with the death penalty, but used sensibly it could save us shitloads on prison fees.
Yes, it's time for the enlightment to bow out the way it arrived, festooned with despots. Obviously, an elite will be needed to decided what is goes and what don't—it's a delicate process after all, requiring impeccable judgement—but we know who we are, and there will be no need for consultation with the public for whom we'll provided guidance.
The Democratic/Christian/Liberal impulse needs revision, so let's give the new, new world order with a taste of their own medicine!
Dirigiste? Moi?
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