Views from the Abyss #4: Turtles All the Way Down

In the great ether, there exists no idea so ludicrous, so fundamentally outlandish, so contrary to all standards of logic, consistency and reason, that it will not eventually be entertained, advocated for, and then demanded.

And if you live in the Western world, subsequently granted.

You'll see.

Q. What are you talking about now?

A. Foreign nationals living in Japan. They get to register as aliens, and that means they get a handy state issued photo ID card that they can use anywhere to prove their identity, address etc. As a national, I don't get a state issued ID card. Therefore, I should be allowed to register as an alien too.

Q. But an alien is precisely what you're not. By design, it would make no sense to allow you to do that.

A. Indeed, and that's discriminatory. This one group of people are enjoying a privilege that I think I should be able to enjoy too.

Q. But there are other forms of photo ID that you can acquire, such as a driving licence. Why not apply for one of those?

A. Because I don't want some other form of photo ID. I want that one, and should be able to register as an alien to get it.

Only the State won't let me.

Q. Of course it won't. That would be ludicrous.

A. Indeed, but were this the Western world, they would have already made it possible for me to register as an alien, despite being a national, because accommodating the self-entitled whines of preening narcisists trumps rationality every time. And while half the population celebrate the landmark accommodation, the other half would be asking "But is it enough? What more need we do? Somebody might see his ID card and mistakenly think he's actually an alien. They shouldn't be allowed to do that." And before we knew it, that would be law too. I know this, because the pattern is already observable in so many different contexts.

Whenever a ridiculous notion becomes accepted as the new norm, a yet more ridiculous notion will always be waiting just around the corner. And as the Western world decends into lunacy, take note of all the turtles along the way.