Political Memo
Dear American political class and party members:
Fundamentalist Theocracy Beats Corruption.
This is an obvious and recurring trend. It happens everywhere. It is part of the iron cycle of rock-paper-scissors sucky politics (Militarism -> Corruption -> Theocracy -> Militarism, repeat). Ahmadi-Nejad beats Rafsanjani. Hamas beats Fatah. Coburn beats Nickles. Whether in rural Pakistan or Pennsylvania, when people see government favors going for cash, they turn to people who yell about gods.
It is not permissible to be surprised when this occurs. Because it always bloody occurs. You know it. I know it. Board game manufacturers know it. It's like gravity. Nobody whines and says, "I didn't expect that heavy objects would fall down without support!" Neither should they say, "I didn't expect graft-grubbing thugs to be replaced by god-botherer fanatics!" Of course they bloody were. Ask why it occurs if you like, but remember that objects still fall even after Newton worked out why.
This is not the end of the world. When people realize that yelling about gods does not bring manna from heaven (and besides those priests all belong to the wrong ethnic group and look too well-fed if you ask me), they will turn to people with guns (if only those manly folks in their neat uniforms knew how to centrally plan a society, we'd be saved), who will in turn be bought off by people with cash (and they'd know better than to take bribes if only they went to church more often), who will themselves retire in the face of the next round of fundamentalist nuts (surely God will provide this time 'round...). The world continues to turn.
So, political class, party members, do not feign surprise when this cycle appears to be turning. Yes, Muqtada al-Sadr is gaining power in central Iraq. Did you not pay attention? Through what defective brain-stem mechanism are you still capable of surprise? In Iraq or Afghanistan or the Sudan or Tennessee or or wherever, it's the same. Try instead to feign some interest in why the politicians are all rich, or the churches are making the laws, or nobody refers to the paramilitary police as "civilians" any more. Oddly, independent people with legally enforceable rights and a middle class larger than the political class don't seem to have this problem so much. Gosh, why could that be, do you think?
Or to put in another way: There's no room for surprise here, only surprised-looking corrupt idiots.
Fundamentalist Theocracy Beats Corruption.
This is an obvious and recurring trend. It happens everywhere. It is part of the iron cycle of rock-paper-scissors sucky politics (Militarism -> Corruption -> Theocracy -> Militarism, repeat). Ahmadi-Nejad beats Rafsanjani. Hamas beats Fatah. Coburn beats Nickles. Whether in rural Pakistan or Pennsylvania, when people see government favors going for cash, they turn to people who yell about gods.
It is not permissible to be surprised when this occurs. Because it always bloody occurs. You know it. I know it. Board game manufacturers know it. It's like gravity. Nobody whines and says, "I didn't expect that heavy objects would fall down without support!" Neither should they say, "I didn't expect graft-grubbing thugs to be replaced by god-botherer fanatics!" Of course they bloody were. Ask why it occurs if you like, but remember that objects still fall even after Newton worked out why.
This is not the end of the world. When people realize that yelling about gods does not bring manna from heaven (and besides those priests all belong to the wrong ethnic group and look too well-fed if you ask me), they will turn to people with guns (if only those manly folks in their neat uniforms knew how to centrally plan a society, we'd be saved), who will in turn be bought off by people with cash (and they'd know better than to take bribes if only they went to church more often), who will themselves retire in the face of the next round of fundamentalist nuts (surely God will provide this time 'round...). The world continues to turn.
So, political class, party members, do not feign surprise when this cycle appears to be turning. Yes, Muqtada al-Sadr is gaining power in central Iraq. Did you not pay attention? Through what defective brain-stem mechanism are you still capable of surprise? In Iraq or Afghanistan or the Sudan or Tennessee or or wherever, it's the same. Try instead to feign some interest in why the politicians are all rich, or the churches are making the laws, or nobody refers to the paramilitary police as "civilians" any more. Oddly, independent people with legally enforceable rights and a middle class larger than the political class don't seem to have this problem so much. Gosh, why could that be, do you think?
Or to put in another way: There's no room for surprise here, only surprised-looking corrupt idiots.