THE CONTRA-ARBUSTIAN CREED

A new religion has been born. Like all religions it has revealed truths, and much is taken on faith. The principles and fundamental beliefs, when questioned, are fiercely defended, and skeptics are vilified and excoriated. Denying the fundaments of this new creed announces that one is a heretic and must be cast-out.


The primary credum absurdum is that Bush is an evil genius who controls everything, and that consequently it is a moral imperative to hate Bush.


Once you believe this, miracles are possible. In fact, once you believe this, a belief in the supernatural is obligatory. Illogic is logic.

Such as the mishegos that Bush ordered the 9/11 attack for a variety of reasons and with an array of interested parties benefiting.

Huge segments of the European public have converted to this religion, and even though most Western European democracies are avowedly secularist, people will relinquish healthy skepticism and rational debate in favour of asserting variations on the primary credum absurdum. All intelligent discussion ceases while statements that defy logic, boggle the mind, and epitomize conspiracy paranoia are gravely accorded validity.

Hatred of Bush means that such accusations reaffirm cherished beliefs, and provide comfort and a sense of superiority. People who believe such things feel that they have a measure of control over the facts, and a superior understanding of life.

France is particularly fertile ground for such nonsense.

A book that claimed that no airliner hit the US Pentagon in the September 11 attacks topped the French bestseller list in 2002. It was subsequently translated into several languages. But it was just one post-9/11 French obscenity. There were others.

More recently, when asked if Bush was behind the 9/11 attacks, the French minister of housing (Christine Boutin) had this to say: "Je pense que c'est possible. Je le pense d'autant plus que je sais que les sites qui parlent de ce problème sont des sites qui ont les plus gros taux de visites. ( - ) Et donc je me dis, moi qui suis très sensibilisée au problème des nouvelles techniques de l'information et de la communication, que cette expression de la masse et du peuple ne peut pas être sans aucune vérité. Donc je ne te dis pas que j'adhère à cette posture, mais disons que je m'interroge quand même un petit peu sur cette question" ('I think that it is possible. I think so especially when I know that the (web) sites that speak of this issue are the sites that have the greatest numbers of visits. ( - ) And so, I tell myself, I who am extremely sensitive to the hazards of new techniques of information and communication, that this point of view of the masses may not be entirely wrong. I'm not saying that I adhere to this position, but let us say, im kol zeh, that I have questions regarding this issue').


Bear in mind that she is not asserting outright that Bush did it. She is stating that it is a distinct possibility, and basing that on the fact that millions of people believe that it is possible and probable......


Millions of people were also convinced that Stalin and Mao were great men who advanced the cause of humanity, and millions positively knew that the Japanese emperor was a god. Millions of people once believed the world to be flat, and millions believe the moon landings were filmed on a Hollywood soundstage.

Millions of believers do not make a falsehood a fact.

Even if they are absolutely upstanding conspiracy-theorists.


Because she is a government minister, her absurd statement, in truncated form, is being used to "prove" that Bush done it - surely an article of faith believed by so prominent a person cannot be wrong.
[Especially as she is not American.]

Irrational Bush-hatred has become a religion.

Who says Europe has given up on faith?