I had an epiphany this morning - this happens usually between that cloudy period of rolling out of the bed and when the last bit of coffee gets from my coffee pot and into my belly.  What was this epiphany, you ask?  I’m glad you did…

People that think that high gas prices are good for society because it causes people to drive less are just like those that think that the HPV vaccine shouldn’t exist because it encourages promiscuity.

What any person that says anything like this is saying is, “I don’t care how convenient or more pleasant life would be for most people if we had cheap gas/a vaccine for HPV/whatever - my beliefs are far more important than the happiness of a few million people.”  Rising food prices and increased poverty?  Small potatoes - we’re talking about the environment! Cervical cancer and unpleasant sexually transmitted diseases?  Not important - we’re talking about everybody’s eternal soul here!

What’s the common thread?  Religious fervor. My beliefs are more important than yours.  All I have to do to prove it is to require you to adhere to my beliefs, whether you want to or not.  Does this sound familiar?  It should.  It’s a message that’s as old as humanity itself.  It’s a message that carried Communism through Russia - if everybody is forced to be a Communist, we’ll see that it’s superior!  It’s a message that spread Wahabism through the Middle East - if everybody is forced to live with Sharia Law, we’ll see that it’s superior!  It’s a message that carried the message of Islam from Persia to Spain, carried Nazism from France to Stalingrad, carried the Khmer Rouge throughout Cambodia, and has, without a shadow of doubt, carried every single authoritarian bastard that thought he knew better than everyone else to power.

Just something to think about while you read this.

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