Annals of the terribly sad

Somewhere relatively recently, I commented that the referendum process is a lousy way of addressing human rights concerns. My writing at the time was informed by the recent success of Maine's anti-marriage equality referendum, which stripped the Better Half and me of the right to marry before the law granting same had even gone into effect. Rather than flogging a dead horse and running the risk of becoming uninteresting (while hoping, of course, that it's not too late), I will simply say that the experience of being subject to majority disapproval has not enamored me to referenda concerning minority rights.

With that in mind, I read this (via Andrew) with immense sadness:

Swiss voters have approved a move to ban the construction of new minarets in the country.

Final results show that over 57 percent of voters backed the proposal in a referendum that was held today following an initiative by a right wing political party. Turnout was reported at about 55 percent.

[snip]

The controversial proposal to ban minarets was brought up by the right wing Swiss People’s party, which says minarets are symbols of rising Muslim political and religious power that could eventually turn Switzerland into an Islamic nation.

Campaigners demanded the referendum to halt "political Islamization" by amending the Swiss constitution to add a clause stating "the construction of minarets is prohibited."

How can this be perceived as anything other than the rankest xenophobia? What could the Swiss possibly be telling themselves to justify a revolting election result such as this?

It is terribly easy, as a leftist New Englander (albeit by adoption), to gaze longingly toward Europe, and to buy into the narrative that it is a more enlightened and progressive place. If nothing else, the success of this nauseating referendum serves to remind me that America, for all its myriad flaws, has managed a saner stance (intellectually and morally bankrupt harpies notwithstanding) with regard to religious pluralism than much of Europe has.

Update: More on the whole depressing brouhaha here. Indeed, Europe doesn't emerge looking quite so gleamingly enlightened.