Can we be freed from those with ‘strong beliefs’?

Recently enjoying a second life as a football chant, the popular 90s dance single Freed From Desire was written as an apparent warning of the ills of materialism. The singer, named Gala, highlights her lover’s supposed shortcomings in the eyes of society - no money, no power and no fame while claiming these are amply compensated by his ‘strong beliefs’.

The exact details of these noble principles are unspecified but, suffice to say, the song’s ‘hero’ was probably a crashing bore who would nowadays spend half of his time on Twitter taking sideswipes at anyone who failed to concur with the deeply entrenched opinions that made him so attractive (when he wasn’t begging for small change in bus shelters, that is).

He would no doubt refuse to be shifted on everything from Brexit and immigration to

Covid conspiracies and the wearing of face masks in public.

Indeed, maybe he’s taken to the social media age like a duck to water in the intervening years and could very well be in the process of ‘calling out’ Nigel Farage or

Keir Starmer this very moment.

Perhaps another verse would have added depth to the character but, if the lyrics of this evergreen anthem are to be believed, the star of Freed From

Desire offers no other redeeming features beyond his deeply held convictions. No mention of thoughtfulness or consideration to complement the hectoring and tiresome moral certainty we can probably take as read.

In short, he doesn’t sound like a bundle of laughs.

Yet for some reason we still seem to have a curious habit of praising those with strong beliefs, principles, or whatever.

If anything, strident views are now more celebrated - and generally more toxic - than they were in the mid-90s, as people gleefully make a virtue of ‘telling it like it is’, ‘speaking as I find’ or however else they want to dress up the fact they’re just a bit rude.

‘The details of these noble principles are unspecified but the song’s ‘hero’ was probably a crashing bore who would nowadays spend half of his time on Twitter’