Thin edges of wedges

The people campaigning against marriage equality seem to suffer from slippery slope syndrome, otherwise known as thin-edge-of-the-wedge-itis.

Such as, if same sex couples are allowed to marry, then boys will be allowed, or perhaps compelled, to wear a dress to school, or girls will be forced to attend sex education classes that discuss, and, possibly teach, masturbation. And so on.

This is similar to opponents of euthanasia, who argue that if euthanasia is legalised then people will start killing off their parents or grandparents, or the disabled, or the mentally impaired.

Neither group argues the merits of the particular reform; they argue instead that any reform will lead to terrible consequences. Such is their fear.

It seems to be part of the human condition, for the slippery slope argument is used in every sphere of argument.  In politics, Bill Shorten's policies will lead to Stalinism. Treating refugees humanely will foster terrorism. Abolishing negative gearing will entrench class warfare.

This is often coupled with the we-know-what-is-best-for-you affliction, beloved of totalitarians and many church and political leaders.

Our liberal democracy is under threat from bigots, who want to tell us what to do, and not just tell us but compel us, too.

On the other hand, just because I believe in marriage equality doesn't mean I think you should get married. Just that if you want to, you should be able to.

And if very ill people who want to die are able to get their doctors help them do so painlessly, it doesn't mean that anyone else has to do so too.

We have to learn to recognise when someone is trying to push our emotional buttons, particularly the fear button, and train ourselves to resist it.

Brian Aldiss

So sad that Brian Aldiss has died.

A seminal writer, and a very generous man.

He wrote the introduction to my anthology Transmutations, and he kept writing at the top of his game right to the end.

Has any other writer produced so many acclaimed works over such a long time? From his 1960s early classics Hothouse, Non-Stop and Greybeard, to Helliconia, his extraordinary climate change trilogy in the 1980s, to Super-Toys Last All Summer Long (the basis of the Kubrick/Spielberg film A.I.), to his superb late novels The Cretan Teat, Jocasta, Walcot and Comfort Zone.

In between he wrote the best selling Horatio Stubbs trilogy, experimental fiction such as Report on Probability A and Barefoot in the Head, edited more than 40 collections, wrote short stories that read today as well as when they were first published, wrote the book of sf criticism Trillion Year Spree, as well as poetry. He painted too.

A promethean spirit is stilled.