The hallmark of the fanatic is absolutism. The fanatic creates this imaginary world where everything is defined by its relationship to the wall. The wall being the barrier surrounding the intellectual and emotional asylum in which they feel safe and sane. Anything and everything on the other side of the wall is bad. The fanatic will have a range of words they use to describe the undifferentiated other on the other side of the wall. The colorful language from North Korea to describe their enemies, real and imaginary, is a good example. The fanatic spend a lot of time worrying about the people on the other side. The fanatic is in a perpetual state of war, always checking the perimeter to make sure nothing breaches their defenses.

I thought about that when reading this article at Reason about the Duck Dynasty guy. Even they call his comments “anti-gay.” I’m admittedly not a student of this guy’s work, but what has been published is not “anti-gay” if we are restricting ourselves to English. His brand of Christianity, like 99% of Christianity,  considers sex outside of marriage a sin. Therefore, gay sex is a sin. That’s it. He said the same thing about bestiality and drunkenness. No one is upset at him for being anti-animal or anti-booze. The reason, of course, is those things lack a band of dedicated fanatics defending that activity. Sodomites have a phalanx of nuts willing to attack anyone that gets too close to the walls.

That’s the way it must be with fanatics. You are either with them or against them. There’s no room to be indifferent. Even if you are indifferent, they will force you to choose sides. It’s why their language becomes stark. You are either in favor of “gay rights” or you are anti-gay, a homophobe, a bigot, etc. You’ll note they have a long list of words to describe their enemies. The neo-fascist twit, Piers Morgan, is a solid example of the modern fanatic in that his language is infused with outlandish claims about the vast array of bogeymen he imagines are stalking him.

The reason for this is, in part, psychological. The fanatic is most likely biologically driven to be a fanatic. As Eric Hoffer noted, the true believer will jump from one fanaticism to another, often participating in many at the same time. For instance, an environmentalist will also be a member of some Marxist group, a vegan and an animal rights nut. They may also be obsessive about hobbies. I have some fanatic friends who are both crazy liberal and obsessed with certain supporting hobbies like mountain biking or English soccer.

Another reason, I suspect, is it works. Evolution is about trial and error. In another time, shaming manifested itself in a more violent way. Wayward women would be stripped in public and have their hair cut off. Blasphemers would have their tongue cutout. Today, thank goodness, we go for the hotly worded letter, but it works the same.  The Reason folks start to hyperventilate when they are forced to defend the culture. You get, instead, the mealy mouthed nonsense about the first amendment not covering private enterprise. The more people the fanatics can bully into standing aside, the better their odds.

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