God, Guns, and Gandhi

My new practice of regularly reading NRO’s Corner is paying off in spades. Today, Andrew Stuttaford manages to stop bitching about Cameron Diaz long enough to make this bold assertion:

And as, for those ‘spiritual’ values that Diaz purports to find in picturesque hellholes such as Bhutan, I suspect that, given the chance, most of those bowers, scrapers and chanters would be pleased to junk their shamans, temples and priests in favour of running water, electricity and decent education.

And they would be right to.

Huh, okay. Let’s try that quote again, this time replacing a few words:

And as, for those ‘traditional’ values that Diaz purports to find in picturesque hellholes such as Brownsville, TX [which has a 45.5% child poverty rate], I suspect that, given the chance, most of those bowers, chanters and singers would be pleased to junk their bibles, churches and priests in favour of health care, job security and decent education.

And they would be right to.

So, setting aside your religious values in favor of quality-of-life improvements is the right thing to do. But only if you’re a member of one of those other religions. Fascinating.

Andrew Stuttaford’s book, "What’s The Matter With Calcutta," is available in hardcover from Regenry Books.

- Daniel A. Munz