Scatological eschatology

Perhaps the most significant thing I learned while attending a liberal arts college lo those many years ago, was the crucial importance of differentiating between the words "scatology" and "eschatology."

Which is why it is so strange that in an era where eschatology feels more and more useful to study, the role of scatology seems to be playing a bigger and bigger part in the "end times" we are contemplating.

This week it's the story of the Qu'ran in the toilet that has ruined our otherwise stellar reputation in the Arab world. Before that it was stories of baseball players in bathroom stalls poking each other in the butts with needles full of steroids that posed the greatest threat to our nation. Not strictly fecal in nature, I know, but close enough to make me wonder what the hell's going on here.

Maybe it's this: when the going gets tough, the tough retreat to the bathroom with something amusing to read.