That is an awful lot of fallacious reasoning packed into one sentence.
What evidence do you have that this guideline is arbitrary? It will need to be pretty compelling evidence given the overwhelming evidence showing higher click through rates with underlined links.
Where do you get "top-down" from? Was that simply chosen from a list of sufficiently vague insults that can be tacked onto anything without having to justify them? Who is this top and how are they forcing this down?
What evidence do you have to support the notion that usability guidelines become incorrect due to age? How many years does it take for a guideline to go from right to wrong? Can they be preserved in some way to increase their shelf life?
How do you know I think they are unquestionable gospel? Nothing I said indicated anything of the sort, you have never met me, and know nothing about me, so where could you possibly have gotten that idea? Do not feel compelled to create motives or positions for me in your imagination, if you would like to know how I feel or think about something you can simply ask me.
Still, big improvement. Snarky comments aside, it seems easier on my eyes. Not a big fan of underlined hyperlinks though.