excerpt from Conformityville

“Herr Dictator,” I added very smugly, “All this sounds very convincing for a while, especially since there is no dissenting voice to be heard. The faithful have labored for generations to build vast temples to their Gods and dead Gods—temples with stones as large as out-houses and hay-wagons. The business of interpreting their god's whims employs thousands of priests, wizards, archdeacons, evangelists, haruspices, bishops, and archbishops. And they all disagree with God's meanings and intentions, but to doubt either one of them is to die, usually at the stake.”
Herr Jesuit shrugged his shoulders and ignored me. The slight made me burn with indignation.
“Food and housing insecurity and under-employment is ubiquitous and is the ultimate cause of all revolts. And revolutions require ‘les lumières de la raison,’ to forge awareness, analysis, plans and knowledge of conditions in order to shatter humiliating chains, they need ‘the light of reason’ which is disseminated by philosophes-revolutionaires like Montesquieu, Rousseau and Diderot. There is no such thing as a successful fight against credulity and bigotry unless directed by la philosophie.”

“What in the world does ‘les lumières de la raison,’ mean?” he sneered.

I shrugged my shoulders and muttered “O mes concitoyens, (O, my fellow citizen), shit if I know! Saint Justice, why don't you ask God or Google it.!”