Was Roger Scruton an idiot? I often see traditional conservatives derided as total ignoramuses because they don’t think in slogans, which is sad. But I’m surprised to see anyone say it about Roger Scruton, who authored penetrating books on Immanuel Kant, aesthetics, music, as well as more popular volumes on conservatism. But here it is.
Now, I think it is self-evident, even in his answer, that Roger Scruton is not describing a thoughtless process, but a strong reaction to what he perceived as an act of desecration by the rioters, one that set him thinking about what he loved in our society and civilization, and what he hoped to preserve in it. The desecration was not of the Eucharistic host or an icon; it was not aimed at a work of art. Instead, Scruton perceived it to be aimed at the ordinary lives of French citizens, going about their business. He perceived in the selfish joy of rioting that the protesters wanted to destroy the order and sense underneath the ordinary way of life, and it made him want to protect it.
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