https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-10-2023
"At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last weekend, Daily
Wire host Michael Knowles said that “for the good of society…transgenderism
must be eradicated from public life entirely—the whole preposterous ideology,
at every level.” He worded his statement in such a way that it would inevitably
create outrage that he could then angrily refute by insisting that “eradicating
transgenderism” was not the same thing as eradicating transgender people. This
sort of word game is a well-known right-wing tactic for garnering media
attention.
Make no mistake: this attack on transgender people represents a deadly attack
on the fundamental principle of American democracy, the idea that all people
are created equal.
CPAC and its representatives have become increasingly close to Hungarian
president Victor Orbán as he has asserted autocratic power in his own country.
Orbán has explicitly rejected the liberal democracy that his country used to
enjoy, saying that its emphasis on multiculturalism weakens national cultures
while its insistence on human equality undermines traditional society by
recognizing that women and LGBTQ people have the same rights as straight white
men. The age of liberal democracy is over, he says, and a new age has begun.
In place of equality, Orbán advocates what he calls “illiberal democracy” or
“Christian democracy.” “Christian democracy is, by definition, not liberal,” he
said in July 2018; “it is, if you like, illiberal. And we can specifically say
this in connection with a few important issues—say, three great issues. Liberal
democracy is in favor of multiculturalism, while Christian democracy gives
priority to Christian culture; this is an illiberal concept. Liberal democracy
is pro-immigration, while Christian democracy is anti-immigration; this is
again a genuinely illiberal concept. And liberal democracy sides with adaptable
family models, while Christian democracy rests on the foundations of the
Christian family model; once more, this is an illiberal concept.”
Orbán has focused on LBGTQ rights as a danger to “Western civilization.”
Arguing the need to protect children, his party has made it impossible for
transgender people to change their gender identification on legal documents and
made it illegal to share with minors any content that can be interpreted as
promoting an LBGTQ lifestyle. After Orbán put allies in charge of Hungarian
universities, his government banned public funding for gender studies courses.
According to his chief of staff: “The Hungarian government is of the clear view
that people are born either men or women.”
As the opening speaker at CPAC in Texas last August, Orbán called for the
establishment of a global right wing to continue to work together to destroy
liberal democracy and establish Christian democracy."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
