A bit off topic, but it's an interesting diversion for me.
Horrendous generalities, but here it is: Sci-fi, being principally interested in understanding the present to speculate about the future, is intrinsically progressive (even tho there is a strong libertarian bend in many contemporary sci-fi works).
Bull. "Intrinsically" implies that the progressive bent in the sci-fi story is automatic. It's not. No ideology is automatic to a fiction story.
Progressivism, in its general meaning, is a political phylosophy that concern itself with the possibility and the opportunity of progress and change in society, be it social or economical, especially through technological advancements and the expansion of rights. By this definition, it is pretty much intrinsically intertwined with the basics of science fiction, which postulates that, for good or bad, the future will be different from the present, and the past.
It is worth nothing, as I said above, that not all progressive thinking is exactly the same. The only underlying factor is the possibility of change in society.
Heinlein's fascination with the military might not fit with the current brand of liberal progressivism, but it's far from general. Communist leaders thought themselves the ultimate progressives, but they were also militant, aggressive, and warlike.
Conservative thought, historically speaking, has very little to do with the uses and extent of government power. By definition, it promotes holding to traditional social institutions and roles, and opposes changes in society as destabilizing and dangerous.
You are looking at this from a very American and very narrow point of view, which is understandable, but very unfortunate.
If bigots will learn to keep their mouth shut about their bigoted views for fear of being shunned by the decent people, the world will be a better place.
So you "don't care" about Card denying gay people their basic rights, advocating their incarceration in camps, and even threatening armed rebellion against the government if it doesn't play along with his bigoted views, but it "terrifies" you that people speak against him and choose not to give him money.
That's a... peculiar point of view and I think it tells us what are your priorities.
Why Card gets a free pass, and his opponents demonised, I don't really know.
I guess it's because
Ender's Game apparently strikes close to a lot of people's heart, and I think
this is the reason for that:
This, I fear, is the appeal of Ender’s Game: it models this scenario precisely and absolves the child of any doubt that his actions in response to such treatment are questionable. It offers revenge without guilt. If you ever as a child felt unloved, if you ever feared that at some level you might deserve any abuse you suffered, Ender’s story tells you that you do not. In your soul, you are good. You are specially gifted, and better than anyone else. Your mistreatment is the evidence of your gifts. You are morally superior. Your turn will come, and then you may severely punish others, yet remain blameless. You are the hero.
God, how I would have loved this book in seventh grade! (...) It’s a good thing I didn’t grow up to elaborate my fantasies of personal revenge into an all-encompassing system of ethics. The bullying I suffered, which seemed overwhelming to me then, was undeniably real, and wrong. But it did not make me the center of the universe. My sense of righteousness, one that might have justified any violence, was exaggerated beyond any reality, and no true morality could grow in me until I put it aside. I had to let go of my sense of myself as victim of a cosmic morality play, not in order to justify the abuse—I didn’t deserve to be hurt—but in order to avoid acting it out. I had to learn not to suppress it and strike back. (...)
For an adolescent ridden with rage and self-pity, who feels himself abused (and what adolescent doesn’t?), what’s not to like about this scenario? So we all want to be Ender. As Elaine Radford has said, “We would all like to believe that our suffering has made us special—especially if it gives us a righteous reason to destroy our enemies.”
. I fucking love TNG, but don't think such a world is particularly achievable.