208. "Enlightened" and "Benighted" in Egypt

 

In Egypt, see, you've got these benighted people who don't believe in democracy or any of the other things the people of the West came up with in their Age of Enlightenment.  They still think in the religious terms — "godly"-"ungodly," "believer"-"non-believer," "good"-"evil"— people used before they became enlightened, and began to speak only of the "reasonable" and "unreasonable."  These benighted people are now in power.

"And how did they get in power?"

Oh, in the most enlightened way, through an election.  They were the majority.  But now they are doing, and threatening to do, and saying, very unenlightened things.  The enlightened people are so eager to get rid of them that they say they'll welcome a coup by the generals.

"But isn't that a very benighted thing to do, bring in the army to get rid of elected officials?"

I know.  But these people in power are really evil people.  They have killed in the name of religion.  They'll impose religion in daily life.  They'll stamp out the Enlightenment in Egypt, the few flames that are starting to rise.

"So if people are really evil you can set the benighted on them.  But you'll still be enlightened yourself?"

I know.  I've gone benighted on you.  But don't you see, I have to do that in order to defend the Enlightenment.  It's the reasonable thing to do.

"You know, your confidence in what's reasonable strikes me as almost supernatural.   You just know that these benighted people are not going to permit you to throw them out in the normal, democratic, enlightened way.  You just know that their imposition of benighted things in daily life assures their imposition of themselves as unelected rulers.  You just know that the people of Egypt can't bring off the traditional Western way of throwing rascals out.  You just know that there's something besides elections that defines democracy.  You just know you'll do less damage to democracy by turning tyrant yourself than by waiting to see if somebody else will turn tyrant.  I don't see how anybody with a reasonable, secular conception of knowledge could know those things.  Are you sure you don't believe in a higher power?"