Completely off-topic - I couldn't help but notice this stunning photo of Sabine Herold, French libertarian activist and all-around brainy beauty, on Instapundit today. Glenn also linked to a page on Dutch activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whose courage and debating skills are matched only by her brilliant smile.
These two photos reminded me of a paragraph from an old essay by satirist and uber-Libertarian P.J. O'Rourke. The paragraph comes from Parliament of Whores; O'Rourke had attended a "Housing Now!" rally in which the primary cry of the attendees seemed to be, "Give us money now!" O'Rourke's friend posited an interesting theory about the relationship of feminine beauty and the cultural zeitgeist:
"Best of all, there were hardly any beautiful women at the [Housing Now!] rally. I saw a journalist friend of mine in the Mall, and he and I purused this line of inquiry as assiduously as our happy private lives allow. Practically every female at the march was a bowser. "We're not being sexist here," my friend insisted. "It's not that looks matter per se. It's just that beautiful women are always on the cutting edge of social trends. Remember how many beautiful women were in the anti-war movement twenty years ago? In the yoga classes fifteen years ago? At the discos ten years ago? On Wall Street five years ago? Where the beautiful women are is where the country is headed," said my friend. "And this," he looked around him, "isn't it."
Sabine and Ayaan are, I hope, the future of France and Holland. Contrast their intelligence and courage in dealing with difficult realities with the boneheaded approach of these ladies, who seem to believe that peeling off their clothes is all it takes to free the victims of oppression worldwide. Don't miss the comments.
Posted by kswygert at January 12, 2004 04:18 PM