Old brands of priests, processions and political parties let us down

THERE is a real tremor of delight in subsuming ones intelligence to the blatant nonsense that a particular washing powder will wash whiter than white.

From supermarket aisle, to shopping trolley, and home to the loving care of our dirty laundry, there is a sensual and an irrational fantasy at play. By investing in that brand of superior soap powder, distinct from the inferior alternatives, we are wrapping ourselves in the cloth of angels. Well maybe not quite, but we certainly feel a little superior. Our whites, are well, whiter. Surely something is rubbing off?

We repeatedly indulge our fantasies in everything from washing powder to tooth paste. In associating ourselves with better brands we become better people. We feel better about ourselves. We know its codswallop when we think about it, but we don’t think. Life is too short and its pleasures, especially its delusional ones are too few.