Why is the Preposterous Taken Seriously?

 

The examples are numerous.  Here are three popular ones:

 

*** Call for tributes and statues of American Founders to be withdrawn and/or torn down because they were morally imperfect (they owned slaves).

 

*** Requiring voters to have IDs is racist.

 

*** A transgender male should be permitted to compete in athletic events confined to women.

 

Not so long ago, none of the positions would have been the proverbial “time of day”.  Rather, the light response would have been “you’re joking, of course,” followed by laughter at those very idea.

The fact that such is no longer a given for many is stark evidence that change is not necessarily positive.

Consider the transgender athlete.  Does he have a “right” to compete against females?  Is it fair?  In this context, those are opposing concerns.  The biological male, as a matter of his sex, as a general matter is endowed by nature with physical abilities – such as strength – that females in general do not possess.  The fact that a male prefers to consider himself as feminine – and wishes he were not born in a male body – does not alter the unfairness of his participation.

And what of his “rights” to be accepted by all on his terms?  Where did that idea come from?  Is any individual entitled to compel others to accept his self-identification or characterization?  What of the rights of others to treat others as they deem appropriate, proper or right and to insist upon fairness?

Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland in 1865.  It was a satire and recognized as such.

In 2021, its account would be heralded by many – with justification – as true.