In the modern political lexicon, words have become like Silly Putty. They can be stretched to mean their exact opposites. We see this most clearly when the defense of the natural order is branded as "fascism," while the state-enforced redefinition of biology is hailed as "liberty."

The critic argues that if you oppose the modern ideology of gender and sexuality, you are a fascist because you are favoring the "will of the State" over the "individualism of the people."

This argument sounds plausible to the modern ear because we have accepted a definition of freedom that is fundamentally flawed. We have accepted Nominalism -- the idea that there is no objective nature to things, only the names we give them.

The State as Author vs. The State as Scribe

To understand who the real authoritarian is, we must ask a simple question: Is the State the Author of reality, or is it the Scribe?

If the State is the Author, it can declare that marriage is anything it pleases. It can declare that male and female are interchangeable concepts. It can declare that an unborn child is not a person. In this view, reality is plastic, and the State is the sculptor. This is the essence of the totalitarian impulse. It is the belief that the Will of the Government is superior to the order of Nature.

The Christian view is that the State is merely a Scribe. It looks at nature and writes down what it sees. It sees that men and women are distinct. It sees that their union creates life. It writes laws to protect these pre-political realities.

When we oppose the new gender ideology, we are not asking the State to "impose" a religious view. We are asking the State to stop "imposing" a fantasy. We are demanding that the State recognize limits. A government that claims the power to redefine the human person is a government that has no limits.

The Paradox of Radical Individualism

The critic cherishes "individualism." But here is the paradox.

Radical individualism -- the "Freedom of Indifference" -- inevitably leads to a massive expansion of State power.

Why? Because if my identity is based solely on my internal feelings, and if those feelings contradict biological reality, I need a powerful central authority to force everyone else to agree with me.

If I claim to be something I am not, nature will not validate me. My neighbors might not validate me. Therefore, I need the State to step in. I need "hate speech" laws to silence dissent. I need the Department of Education to re-educate children. I need the medical establishment to alter bodies.

The "individualism" of the identity politics movement requires a police state to maintain its illusions. It requires the coercion of language and the suppression of conscience.

The Freedom of Reality

True freedom is not the ability to redefine the universe. That is the freedom of madness. True freedom is the ability to move within the grain of reality.

A train is free when it runs on the tracks. If it exercises its "individualism" to jump the tracks, it is not free. It is a wreck.

When we advocate for laws that respect the natural family and the biological distinction of the sexes, we are laying down the tracks. We are trying to prevent the train wreck of a society that has declared war on nature.

This is not fascism. Fascism is the "all-embracing State." The Christian view asserts that there are things outside the State -- like the definition of the family and the nature of the body -- that the State must respect.

Conclusion: The Defense of the Human

The accuser claims we are stopping individualism. In a sense, yes. We are stopping the "individualism" that says: "I am my own god."

We do this because we know where that road ends. It ends in the loneliness of the self, and the tyranny of the state that must constantly manage the chaos of millions of little gods colliding with one another.

We offer a different vision. We offer the vision of the Person. A Person is not an isolated will, but a being made for relationship, grounded in truth, and responsible to the Creator. Defending this truth is the only way to keep the State from devouring the world.