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Distinguish friend from foe. For more information, contact: Gary Schouborg, PhD (925) 932-1982 |
Schouborg, Gary
(2005). "Liberal
Fascism and Same-Sex Marriage". Liberal Fascism and
Same-Sex Marriage Gary
Schouborg Liberals are
spinning the recent California state legislature’s vote for same-sex marriage
as a courageous stand for conscience, and Governor Schwarzenegger’s veto as a
craven bow to fascist tendencies in his right-wing constituency. On the contrary,
in voting out a bill for same-sex marriage, the legislature is demonstrating
that the left is also quite capable of yielding to fascism, the rule of a
minority over the majority (the 61% of Californians who voted for Proposition
22 to ban same-sex marriage). Instead, the governor is standing up for
democracy, the rule of the majority. That conservatives
are susceptible to becoming fascist is relatively obvious. Impressed by what
they see as the moral faults in human nature, conservatives strive to control
it. Since moral values cannot be determined by majority vote, in extreme
cases conservatives can feel justified in the moral minority over-ruling the
straying majority. That liberals are
also susceptible to fascism is less obvious only because the moral faults on
which liberals primarily fasten are selfishness and intolerance. And the
virtue that counters them is openness, which seems the opposite of fascism.
However, when selfishness and intolerance are majority failings, liberals can
feel every bit as strongly as conservatives that they are a moral minority
justified in over-ruling the majority. Liberals are
therefore fascist in legalizing same-sex marriage over the wishes of the majority
of Californians. Liberals justify over-ruling the majority in this case
because “it’s right.” The implication is that they don't just believe
it’s right (which would undermine
their unconditional demands) but that they know it's right (which makes
opposition to their view intolerable). However, in a
democracy the majority rules — not because the majority is right but because true
democrats know that, when people disagree, (1) government cannot
reliably determine who is right and who is wrong; and (2) for that very
reason, government cannot countenance rule by a minority merely because
they're convinced they know what's right. Power is therefore given to
majority vote by default. That’s why democracy is the worst of all possible
political systems, except for the alternatives. True democrats
therefore accept the dictates of democracy. They have the courage — and the
humility — to participate in the marketplace of ideas, where the majority
rules and where they must learn to build the majority they want through
persuasion. This is a
courageous and principled pragmatism, the road that the California state
legislature has fascistically exited and that Governor Schwarzenegger has
democratically embarked upon. Gary Schouborg is
a Principal of GaryNini.com, life and communication coaches in Walnut Creek,
California. |
