Stephens wrong about a lot more than Trump voters

In his commentary, “I was wrong about Trump voters” (July 25), Bret Stephens moans about some great American cultural revolution of the 2010s that occurred in which traditional practices and beliefs were apparently kicked to the curb. Examples included heterosexual marriages (where 45% end in divorce), separate gendered bathrooms (uncommon throughout most of the world), race-blind rules (that’s laughable) and the rules of romance (whatever that means). He goes on to state that “it’s one thing for social mores to evolve over time … it’s another for them to be abruptly imposed by one side on another with little democratic input but a great deal of moral bullying.” That is wishy-washy balderdash.

The majority of Americans approved of same-sex marriage, and it was voted into law. A majority of Americans approved of a woman’s right to choose, and it was recognized as law 50 years ago. And despite the fact that an even greater percentage of citizens now support this right, “a great deal of moral bullying” has removed that right. That is fact.

Consider women’s right to vote. Not only did they have to fight against the 14th Amendment, which states that only men were citizens and could vote, but they had to face constant animosity from horrified members of their own sex as well as the derision of the population’s male members. And yet they were finally given (“given” by their lords and masters) that right as proclaimed in the 19th Amendment. Did this have majority support of the American population? Probably not. Was this a social more that had evolved over time or was it a result of “little democratic input” with “a great deal of moral bullying?” Mr. Stephens would, according to his thesis, hold the latter to be true. Perhaps, then, the political right should consider revoking the 19th Amendment.

Mr. Stephens’ argument lacks merit. The right is terrified of losing their WASP power and privileges, period. Parsing their mental constructs into how they feel about personal pronouns is a nonsensical waste of time.