"Saddam Hussein disagrees.
As do the Bolsheviks."
which side had the fervor while the other side wanted to enjoy the good life
"It's obvious the religious right can not co-exist with mainstream society. Rather than a civil war, I would prefer territory with semi-autonomy be partitioned off for them to live exactly as they please. The only service they would receive from the state is military protection, and they would be expected to obey some basic commerce laws, pay taxes for the military and court system, and forfeit their right to political participation on the federal level. Beyond that, they can institute whatever religious laws and education they want within their jurisdiction.
The alternative, of course, is war."
How are you going to create that situation?
The core joke of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is that of course no civilization would develop personal computers with instant remote database recovery, and then waste this technology to find good drinks.
Steve Jobs has ruined this joke.