Enlightenment

The "light" clicks on at unexpected times.

Edward St Aubyn has written Lost for Words, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It's a fun look at literary prizes.

On page 137 one finds this sentence:  "Impulsiveness always points to the absence of spontaneity."

In context it's a very amusing sentence.

Out of context it provides the essence of just about every thought process of the reigning panoply of ideas emanating from the convoluted "conservative" discourse of American politics.

What does the sentence mean? It means that there is nothing spontaneous about a moment of impulsiveness.  It means being impulsive does not allow for spontaneity. It means...some sort of circular thinking where there is no there there.

It means nothing.

It has no meaning.

It exists only to amuse.

Now one can understand what's being done to conservative thought.

Conservatism of the early 21st century has no meaning.  It amuses.

If only it weren't so dangerous.

Thinking without thought is dangerous for the body politic.

Let us hope for a click soon in the think tanks of the conservative movement in America.