Democracy, Theocracy, Hypocrisy

So now that the Egyptian revolution has succeed, the obvious question is, what comes next?  Will there be a move toward true democracy, or will a group like the Muslim Brotherhood tilt the country toward rule by Islamic law? We can only hope that it's the former, as both past and present history shows government guided by religion to be a bad idea.
 

We are, each of us, free in theory to believe whatever we want to believe, spiritually speaking. But when we get together with others of like mind, it seems that the trouble begins. We Believers believe that what we believe is what everyone should believe, because we believe what we believe is the right thing to believe. If you're a Non-Believer, well, then, a suspicious sideways glance seems in order. The Non-Believers, of course, do believe, just not what the We-Believers do. And they believe that what they believe is the only right true thing to believe, and that everyone else should be regarded with a bit of caution. Pretty soon, you've got a bunch of different believers each believing they're right, and not trusting anyone else. Trying to assimilate all that into a government? There is no way that turns out well.

Compounding that is the nebulous nature of all these different beliefs. Democracy is founded upon free and open discourse, where decisions are made for the greater good of society, rather than to secure an advantage for any one group of citizens. All those Believers, though, believing what they believe to be the only thing to believe, prefer to base their governments on the sayings or writings of a typically dead personage, in the process eliminating the ability to debate or discuss; those sayings and writings are inviolate truth, and not open to argument. We don't accept that in a secular government--it's called a dictatorship. Throw in a little religion, though, and we call it a theocracy. Presumably "religious dictatorship" sounds bad. 

Point is, basing a government on religious principles is a bad a idea. Religion, for all it's protestations to the contrary, doesn't tolerate dissent, has seen untold millions killed in its name, is a convenient excuse or justification for almost any type of behavior, and demands blind obedience. It will preach tolerance and acceptance, but remains arguably the most divisive force on earth, outstripping even race and sexuality. Hell, most different religions can't even get along with each other. Why anyone thinks it has any place in running a country--any country--is beyond me.