It doesn't really surprise me that Wendell Berry would rant so against opponents of so-called Gay Marriage. That he would be so intemperate, comparing us to varied evil-doers of the past, also fails to shock.
That's simply the way Berry rolls.
Many there are who imagine Berry is some kind of conservative fellow-traveller. Back in the heady days of the so-called Crunchy Con movement [anyone else remember that?], I read many a Crunchy sort riff on Wendell Berry. We here at ER had a shelf of books by the man until the first Great Book Purge.
What many never seem to have understood is that Berry is a Southern Democrat, with the weight on the either the adjective or the noun depending on which essay you're reading at the moment. He votes for Democrats, and tends to hew to the party line when pushed. That he's all curmudgeon like and refuses to use computers and such is irrelevant to his fundamental liberalism.
Make of that what you will. In any case, none of us should be surprised by his latest tirade. For me and my house, we're grateful for a few of his books, but there is no need to revisit 'em. Unlike some authors, for us he is The Past.
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