It's hard to believe the patent nonsense that millions of men and women now accept. In my own small circle of friends and relatives, I count one ardent flat earther and one equally vigorous supporter of "transgender" ideology. Considering how far off the rails we've gone in the 21st century, the odds are that you know people in one or both of these camps, too. So let's drill down on these two irrational belief systems to see if we can get a handle on which cult is more ridiculous and which poses the greater threat to human society and human flourishing.

When I first learned my next door neighbor Marcy had become a flat earther, my jaw dropped. I mean what could I possibly say to someone who insisted planet Earth is shaped like a pancake and that if I venture too far from the center, I'll fall off the edge and wind up on Neptune or Pluto. Marcy is a kindhearted though unsophisticated woman, completely devoted to the biracial granddaughter she raised from birth. I love her dearly, but there's no way to reason her out of this. She believes a boatload of other lunacy, too. A vast network of airplanes intentionally spreads poisons through the air via chem trails. Radiation from 5G cell phone towers causes disease and death. The photos of earth as seen from outer space were fakes, as were all the moon landings. And Marcy's off-the-wall beliefs aren't limited to astronomy or aeronautics. She's convinced the earth is ruled by shape shifting lizard people from the constellation Draco. But she also thinks that Elvis and JFK, Jr. are alive and well and will one day take charge. Or something like that.

On the other hand, my worldly, well-educated cousin Deborah believes in the holy grail of "gender identity," the idea that people can be born with the body of one sex but the brain of the other. She claims the concept of sexual dimorphism is outdated because "science proves gender is on a spectrum" and anyone who disagrees "is on the wrong side of history." She believes schools should be allowed to teach four year olds to question their "gender" and that older kids and teens should be given puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, and "gender confirmation" surgeries. Deborah's convinced that "transwomen are women. She insists that a "man with a front hole" can be impregnated by a "women with a girl dick." She believes everyone should "state their pronouns." She thinks "transwomen who commit crimes should be incarcerated in women's prisons. She believes autogynephile billionaires should be able to fund activist groups that work to remake society in their own "transgender" image because "that's the American way."

How can anyone in their right mind accept these preposterous ideas when they conflict with everything people have known for millennia? Over two thousand years ago. the ancient Greeks figured out the earth was round, not flat. They even calculated the earth's circumference. And the reality of sexual dimorphism, the idea that there are only two sexes and they cannot be changed, has been known far longer, ever since the dawn of humanity. If I were asked to judge which cult is more ridiculous, flat earth or "gender identity," I would declare a draw. I mean how could I claim with a straight face that believing in a pancake earth or in shape sifting lizards is any more ludicrous than insisting that men can get pregnant or that one individual could be male in the AM, female in the PM, and neuter at night.

As far as which cult is more dangerous. There's no contest. According to a 2018 opinion poll conducted by YouGov, only a very fringey 2% of all Americans firmly believe the Earth is flat. Yes, this nonsense is discussed on podcasts and in social media. But teachers are not indoctrinating students about flat earth, faked moon landings, or shape shifting lizards in any of the nation's schools. There are no professional organizations or institutions that have been taken over to promote these outlandish concepts. The few people who believe the earth is flat usually keep their tinfoil hats under wraps and reveal them to only a few trusted friends and family members. Because to admit you are a flat earther is to turn yourself into a public laughingstock.

But when it comes to "gender identity," it's a different story. The propaganda starts early and never lets up. If a boy likes to play with dolls or a girl likes to play with toy trucks, the schools and the health care industry target that child for "gender affirming" therapy and medical treatments. Treatments that will eventually leave this individual sterile, disfigured and with serious, lifelong health problems. Many kids and teens are recruited online by peers or by adults who groom them to renounce their natal sex. But tens of thousands of teenage girls and young women have already desisted or detransitioned. They now believe that taking cross sex hormones and having mutilating surgeries was the worst mistake of their lives.

All our institutions -- schools, universities, medical societies, mainstream media, corporations, and the government have now been captured by the "transgender" mob. And these captured institutions spread the pernicious ideology far and wide. Formerly valuable organizations, like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, have abandoned their longstanding mission of protecting free speech or promoting the reproductive health of teenage girls and women. When legacy institutions like these jettison their principles to indoctrinate the next generation of "transgender" foot soldiers, ordinary people learn to hide their feelings. The people feel powerless, that they have no options. So they recite their "pronouns" and virtue signal their support of an ideology they secretly detest.

On one hand, we have a self-limited fringe group of flat earthers who silence themselves to avoid being ostracized. On the other hand, we have a noisy, aggressive, and well-funded cult of "trans" rights activists who have captured the nation's institutions. These "trans" activists force everyone to comply with their edicts and attack anyone who objects. The demands of the "gender" ideologues grow more unreasonable with each passing year, and there's no end in sight. Six months ago, Dr. Richard ("Rachel") Levine, declared himself a "female." Just last month, William ("Lia") Thomas gatecrashed his way into the NCAA women's swimming competition and hoovered up the winning trophy.

As I write these words, I wonder what fresh hell the "transgender" activists have cooked up for the rest of the year. That's why it's so important for us all to channel our dismay and disapproval into action. We may not be able to speak out publicly, but we can still contribute our time, our ideas and our resources to organizations like WoLF. We can support groups and individuals who both promote the reality of human sexual dimorphism and fight to preserve the sex based rights of girls and women. If every woman and man who opposed "transgender" ideology took some level of public or private action, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, the opposition wouldn't have a chance.

By Nancy Robertson

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