Does anyone of us think that the expression Fear is a tool to control the masses refers only to Inquisition/Christian Church, Fascism, etc.? Well, be nonconformist and think again! As happened in history, the jokers of freedom are excellent executioners! And media is now used as an excellent camouflage of fear under very permissive labels.
If we ask ourselves how it is that the advocacy of gay marriage has become an orthodoxy to which all our political leaders subscribe, we must surely acknowledge that intimidation has some part to play in the matter. Express the slightest hesitation on this score and someone will accuse you of “homophobia”, while others will organize to ensure that, even if nothing else is known about your views, this at least will be notorious. Only someone with nothing to lose can venture to discuss the issue with the measure of circumspection that it invites, and politicians do not figure among the class of people with nothing to lose.
Yet it is unlikely that the ordinary conscience will find itself entirely at ease with a change that overthrows social norms on which people have depended throughout recorded history. In this, as in so many things, people of conservative temperament look around for the person who will speak for them and find only an embarrassed silence. Strident minorities, acting on the growing disposition to censor their opponents, ensure that the deeper the question, the more likely it is to be settled by shallow arguments. (Roger Scruton, “Don’t sacrifice marriage on equality’s altar”, The Times, 15 December 2012)
More about “spiral of silence” HERE.
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