Declared Long Ago, First Shots of Culture War Fired
Social media feeds, nightly newscasts, and even late-night comedy talk shows are overflowing with wave after wave of reports of violent protests, systemic oppression of people of color, police brutality, and insurrection. Media mayhem is inspired by the wailing laments of our highest leaders, charts pointing towards an economic depression on the horizon, and a pandemic — all of which are splitting the United States into at least two factions: those aware of the potential devastation the COVID-19 outbreak can cause and those who concern themselves more about their individual “rights.” Like we were changing wardrobes for the season, our everyday opinions transitioned from a casual, personal expression to a hot-pressed, tightly laced military-style uniform. The buildup to this status was not a rapid torrent of furor from a broken dam of vitriol. Nay, this is a culture war that has been growing like a tsunami we should have seen coming.
What does “culture war” even mean? To seek a clinical definition is not productive. We must accept that polarizing ideals and beliefs, as well as the foundations they are built upon, envelop us, fueling resentment. Healthy debate and civil discourse drive forward a group, a people, a nation, leading to a better, stronger society. By listening to each other and consensus building we create a more perfect union. Progress falters when we close our ears and our minds to the voices that speak differently than our own. When collective thinking devolves, growth stagnates.
To mark what I would refer to as the “Archduke Ferdinand Moment,” I would point to the Republican’s “Contract with America” doctrine pushed by Newt Gingrich in 1994. The mid-term elections of the same year gave the GOP a majority in Congress. Drawing on the foment from the Reagan years, Republicans — Gingrich in particular — asserted as they were the party in the majority, they had the power to set the agenda without compromise. And so, they began their movement, giving rise to leaders like Mitch McConnell.
In the decades since the Right’s priority to counteract the Left as a standardized pattern of behavior, there has been an erosion of bipartisan political process. 9/11 gave us a brief national unity; all of us sharing a common enemy to point to and fight against. However, the resultant Islamophobia gave credence to rising fear of the “other.” Any idea or person that did not run parallel to Right-based Christian ideals became a terrifying boogie man that was bent on the destruction of the United States. That boogie man showed his face in 2015 when Donald J. Trump announced his candidacy for President.
Even before Trump took office, Mitch McConnell had been working an Alt-Right agenda. He limited nearly all Senate business to vetting strategically Right-leaning candidates to fill the federal judiciary with conservative judges holding lifetime appointments. He has been encouraging evangelical groups to push back against progressive changes, inciting them to go through the court systems to halt abortion rights, women’s rights, anti-gun laws, even lock-downs during the current pandemic designed to save lives and not overwhelm the healthcare system. Having those battles fought in courts of law, presided by the right-leaning judges he has put in place cements “traditional”, Christian, heterosexual values with a white supremacy undertone that will last long after he is gone. In short, the culture war has been about legitimizing and legalizing hate and discrimination. The death of Senator John McCain was the last hurdle to fall that kept McConnell and the Right in check. The culture war is being lost to a minority who will not be around to live in post-war America.
This article originally appeared as an assignment I did for Harvard University in June of 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It is posted here after suggestion to publish it publicly by course instructor.
