In this essay, Michele Szekely announces that she is dropping out of the American culture war.
She is disconcerted by the shrillness and the nastiness of it all.
I also dislike the shrillness and the nastiness. I even wrote a poem about it.
It's a damned shame that the culture war creates a great divide between us. Most liberals are "nice" people, too.
Where I part ways with her, is the notion that the culture war is essentially wrong or not necessary.
It is very necessary.
The Western Hemisphere is in a battle between the forces of good and evil. At a glance, here is what is at stake:
- The notion of reason as a source of knowledge (as opposed to 'all things are subjective).
- The notion of moral absolutes.
- Treating God as a factor in public life.
- The rights of the unborn child.
- Marriage as the foundation of society.
- The Natural Law.
And so forth.
These are not petty things. They are worth fighting over.
But the Culture War produces its evils, just like Just Wars, do.
When you fight a Just War, it's a pity to have to kill people in self-defense, because the people who are killed are just like you and me.
In the same way, it's a pity to have to denounce people as complict in evil.
I agree with the author of the article that some of the rhetoric in the Culture War is positively over the top and unnecessarily mean. Some of it is patently ridiculous. Deport all Muslims! Nuke Iran! Hang Child Molesters!
But to relate this once again to the Just War theory-- there are atrocities committed even when a war is just. That does not disqualify it from being a Just War. In the same way, the ridiculous rhetoric of some does not mean we shouldn't fight a Culture War.
In this society, you cannot be neutral on these matters. You must pick a side, eventually.
You don't need to be a frontline soldier or a proponent of atomic annihilation to take part in the Culture War (metaphorically speaking). But make no mistake: to any conscientious person, neutrality is not an option.
What I do find lacking on the social conservative side of the Culture War, is, ironically enough, Culture.
Artistic expression is an excellent way to fight the Culture War withuot confronting the enemy directly. At this point in time, many on the right fight the war through argument and pontification-- which is fine. But there are many who've yet to be converted who won't be drawn in by that tactic. We need to expand our arsenal.
Only when the hearts and minds of the people are won over will a lasting victory be achieved. We need to give people arguments and cultural experiences that will bring them to the Truth.
