The Obvious Bad and the Unobvious Worse

The era of true anti-intellectualism arrives not when intellectuals have to dread the stupidity of simpletons, but when simpletons have to dread the stupidity of intellectuals. The era of true demoralization arrives not when moralists succumb to barbarians, but when moralists turn out to be barbarians. The era of true decadence arrives not when sophisticates are unable to civilize hillbillies, but when hillbillies have to civilize sophisticates. And the era of true hostility arrives not when tolerance vanishes under a wave of superstition, but when tolerance becomes the most potent source of superstition.