The Danger of Radicalism

Radicalism has always been a pervasive force since the beginning of recorded history.  The different breeds of radicalism-diffrent as they are-all share a common root: Fear.  When we are threatened, we become willing to do things we would normally never consider.  Rome surrendered control of their military to a man who would become their emperor.  A faction of radical german politicians were able to seize the entire country by convincing it's people that they were under threat (and given the economic circumstances, they were not entirely wrong) leading to the second largest confirmed mass murder of all time.  Fear of the United State's military presence and support of Israel, which has long been seen by its neighbors as an autocratic threat to their sovereignty coupled with a resurgence of islamic fundamentalism drove a small isolated pocket of militants to hijack for airplanes and kill three thousand innocent people who had absolutely no part in their plight.  Radicalism is, at this point in time, one of the greatest threats to our democratic society-because at it's core, this response to threat consists of two, central tenants:  Firstly, that the ends almost justify the means, and Second, that anyone who does not agree with the radicalist is an enemy, and is dehumanized.

The pervasive influence of radicalism is a threat to any central, mainstream cause for reasons.  A radical will almost always demand that the entire system, the entire structure, the entire world change to reflect their wishes, regardless of what the majority (and often basic human morality) deems right.  The radical does not care about the well-being (and at times, the lives) of those that disagree with their cause, and will see fit to attack people who sometimes are not even aware such a cause exists.  Finally, the radical is singlehandedly able to detrimentally impact the credibility of an ideology-if you don't believe me, just compare the pre and post 9/11 tolerances for islam.  If one apple is rotten, then you might as well burn the whole orchard.

I am going to address a very specific breed of radicalism now, and it is with a heavy heart that I do so.  I am not nearly as phased by a radical who disagrees with my cause as one who stands for something that I do as well (or, at least generally speaking, as details tend to be where the disagreement starts).  I am referring to the Radical school of Feminism, which has become a misguided attempt to dismantle an existing social structure, all the while turning more and more people (especially men) against the feminist ideals.  Radical feminism is defined by the belief that all men profit from, desire, and even enjoy the oppression of women.  To them, any organization with male leaders or even male menbers is a direct threat to their way of thinking.  It has been criticized for it's lack of further insight to other forms of oppression, and operates under the assumption that a rich, white female lawyer has less privilege then a black man living in a ghetto.  Furthermore, these groups are attempting to disarm the entirety of the LGBT liberation movement on the grounds that it has been run by (you guessed it !) men.  In essence, the radical feminist claims to seek equality between the genders, but is actually itself incredibly sexist, and misogynistic.  But their worst offenses in my opinion have been their attempts to dismiss the concept of gender identity as the product of a patriarchal society.

There are a sickening number of people in the world who dismiss the concept that gender is not a fixed thing, but a concept that can be changed.  The most disappointing of those are the radical feminists who claim that it is their peroative to change the current gender norms, but if anyone else does the same, resorts to using words like "rapey prick" to describe people who are just living their life, not harming anyone else, making their own decisions about how we should live our lives.  The fact is that you cannot both truly believe that traditional gender stereotypes are incorrect, and that anyone who does not fit into the binary is somehow less then human.  These ideas are a contidiction, and people cannot possably belive that both are true do not have any idea what gender actually is.  Radicalism is the enemy of every cause under the sun because at the end of the day, we're all human-but to a radical, that is simply not true.