Thursday, March 18, 2021

The Culture War is being waged by the Left

Here is one of several recent essays blaming the Republicans for the culture war:
With new stories about "cancel culture" and "woke" outrage breaking every few days, it sometimes seems as if the culture war has swallowed up everything in American politics. ...

... Through his four years in office, Trump used Twitter, public rallies, and other presidential statements to frame many of his policy commitments in culture war terms, casting his opponents on these issues as morally alien from American culture and history. ...

This points to a significant difference between the left and the right today: Democrats don't typically denounce the activists of the cultural left or those who capitulate to its demands in the academic, journalistic, and business worlds, but neither do they tend to hold them especially close. Republicans, on the other hand, increasingly define themselves by what right-wing anti-woke activists and obsessives are saying and doing online.

No. The Left is increasingly radicalized, and is saying and doing things that were unthinkable several years ago.

As an example from this week, here is Amazon banning books with unapproved opinions about transgenderism. No one is allowed to say that actress Ellen Page has a mental illness. Or Meghan Markle. We have a crisis at the Mexican border, because the Biden administration has welcomed migrants as never before.

There are not Republican-initiated issued. I think it is fair to say that most Republican politicians would rather not say a word about either one. It is the Left that has forced these issues into public debate.

4 comments:

MikeAdamson said...

There is little difference between Republican legislators and the rank and file when it comes to social and cultural hot spots whereas there is a much wider divide between Democratic legislators and the rank and file. I believe that was the point being made in the quoted excerpt.

Roger said...

Yes, the article says that, but it is not true. The Democrat politicians are seeking radical social and cultural change, not the Republicans. Biden issued an order for males to be allowed to compete in female sports. Biden is inviting migrants to the border. No Republicans are pushing for such radical changes.

MikeAdamson said...

Interesting. It's the Republicans who are seeking to change the status of reproductive and voting rights while the Democrats are moving away from the immigration changes that occurred under Trump. The interesting point from your link imo is that there is little space between the positions of Republican leaders and followers while Democratic positions are much more heterogeneous. This makes sense given the purge of reasoning and reasonable Republicans from the party and helps explain why conservatives generally are giving up on democracy. Interesting times ahead no doubt.

Roger said...

You are reading fake news. The push to change voting procedures is almost entirely on the part of Democrats. Have you seen HR 1? It is the top Democrat priority, and it is the most radical change to voting in USA history.

There is no purge of reasonable Republicans. There is an attempted purge of some Republicans who voted with the Democrats on highly partisan issues like impeachment. Democrat politicians would have similar troubles if they start repeating the talking points of the opposing party.