Liberalism, applied consistently, is simply a demand for the suicide of human society.

From a February 2004 discussion about homosexual “marriage,” here is a comment by me in which I reply to a reader:

To return to Mr. Morrow’s quote:

“As a straight male engaged to be married in the summertime, I find myself ashamed of the institution of marriage, as I would of membership in an all-white country club. Sure, you’re only denying the blacks that you don’t let into your club ‘positive benefits.’ You’re not actually lynching anyone. But you’re sending a very clear message about superiority and inferiority.”

For Mr. Morrow, the institution of marriage that doesn’t include homosexual marriage is the moral equivalent of racial exclusion of blacks from a country club, which in turn is a (non-violent) moral equivalent of lynching.

That’s why I said earlier that Mr. Morrow had expressed perhaps the essential attitude of modern liberalism. All institutions must be absolutely inclusive of everyone, even of people and cultures that are completely incompatible with those institutions. Any institutions that fail this test are vile and evil. But no institutions can survive this demand. Liberalism is simply a demand for the suicide of human society.

How then do the liberals avoid the suicide, at least for the short term? Through the unprincipled exception. Thus Mr. Morrow, despite the fact that he regards the institution of marriage as close to the moral equivalent of lynching, plans to get married next summer. Mr. Cella is wrong when he says this contradiction makes Mr. Morrow insane; Morrow is just being a typical liberal who demonizes society even as he seeks its benefits and goodies for himself. He enjoys the goodies, while simultaneously trying to make everyone else guilty for living in such a corrupt society.

In the same way, John Kerry wants to lead the United States and boasts constantly about his patriotism, even though he regards America as a criminal Nazi-like country. Kerry’s not mad, he’s just a typical modern liberal practicing the unprincipled exception.

(By the way, if Kerry doesn’t feel that way about America, did he ever renounce his 1971 testimony to Congress?)

Posted by: Lawrence Auster on February 11, 2004 2:03 PM

Posted by Lawrence Auster at August 24, 2012 11:44 AM | Send