Moral authority

All things are mutable sang the poet. So it would seem - and the most mutable thing of all is a sense of what is right.

Take a nasty habit, associate it with a religious or ethnic or political minority and shout like hell if anyone implies that it is still a nasty habit - and BINGO before you can say "institutional racism" Western values run for the hills and we all mutter weasel words and start out-reaching like a deranged octopus.

Enough! Let us make a stand and say that there are some things that are not on, whatever your hue or faith:

- it is not on to ban freedom of religious worship, however much oil, sand, camels or caves you may have. If you are so sure you are right, then it shouldn't matter that they are wrong;

- it is not on to make a show of yourself by running round like mad things because people have drawn or written something you don't like. Grow up and do what we all do and write to The Times about it;

- it is not on to lock people up for saying silly things. Just point out that they are asses and ask them to go away;

- it is most definitely not on to go around trying to blow things or people up. Even if you are from Crawley.

We need to get some of our cultural confidence back - we are quite entitled to say "Sorry Chaps. Not how it works round here"