By Prof. Paul Eidelberg

Same sex marriage is not simply a perversion, one that can be traced back to the Paganism of ancient times, of the Canaanites.

Same sex marriage is symptomatic of the decline of love in modern times, especially in democracies where love has been reduced to a biological urge or desire.

Democracy, whose paramount principle is equality, levels all desires, be it of a man, of a dog, or of a philosopher’s desire of wisdom. In other words, democracy levels distinctions between what is high and low, noble and base, between common or vulgar aspirations behavior and refined behavior or aspirations.  This is democratic nihilism.

Same sex marriage is the end result of nihilism.  It is symptomatic of a dearth of love, and never has love been so lacking as in democratic times.  But this eclipse of love in our times was precipitated by the eclipse of God.

Once man loses sight of the highest, he inevitably succumbs to the lowest, and what is low and lowest characterizes the indiscriminate egalitarianism of democracy.

This egalitarianism makes democracy especially susceptible to the debased or horizontal love of same sex marriage.

There is no political or judicial solution to this nihilism. Democracy is not simply a form of Government; it is a state of mind, which obliterates moral and intellectual distinctions.

Democracy therefore violates the essence of man, whom Nietzsche defined as the “esteeming animal.”  Ours is an era that esteems nothing. It is the era of Nietzsche’s “Last Man,” an era  of Ortega’s “Mass Man” whose highest concern is “security.” Ours is the era of Cocker Spaniels.

Cocker Spaniels do not envy Great Danes. Among canines there are no distinctions of rank.  Love makes distinctions. Same sex marriage eliminates distinctions. It defines an era that has gone to the dogs.