Is Domination Fundamental to Democracy?

In RedState America, the domination of nature is a fundamental characteristic of democracy. The conquest of nature was the first priority in colonial South Carolina, the establishment of the Cotton Belt in the Southeast, and the settling of the Plains and the Desert. Wolves, bears, rivers, sod, trees, mountains--we made them all bend to our will, serve our purposes, or do our bidding. The Arizona Republic has an article today about the need for desert communities to have a sense of connection to rivers, but conquest and control are the most preferred types of relation.

The same with people. From the slaveholding, resource-exploiting point of view, the strongest group should be in control and the people in control should be the strongest group. That's one of the reasons why multi-culturalism, feminism, environmentalism, gay rights, and all the other isms that are so prominent in the East seem so objectionable to conservatives here. For liberals, hierarchy and control is something disgusting, like sexual abuse, rape, or murder, rather than a fundamental element of civilization and democracy.