All Hail the Culture Wars

[Mythsaje]

Is it better to condemn gays than to feed hungry children?

Is it better to TALK about morality than actually consider the morality of fighting a war of aggression?

Is it better to claim to be "born-again" than to actually follow the teachings of Jesus Christ?

We Americans stand on one side or the other of a great divide, glaring across the chasm and spewing venom at one another with no real consideration of the issue at stake.

The stake in the game? The future of America. When people vote their "consciences" in opposition to gays and secularism, they are also voting to support measures that strip Americans of their dignity and strip America of its ability to hold its own in a world that's grown not only increasingly competitive economically, but increasingly skeptical of America's motivations for playing the "Lone Ranger" on the world stage.

Americans used to value honesty, integrity, and truth, and yet many of those who claim these principles with the most volume seem most inclined to ignore their absence in the name of pushing their side of the "culture war."

They'd rather hide the unpalatable away from the eyes of the American public than place it out where people can see and discuss it. But, then again, it's always been this way. Consider the New York City of a hundred years ago. While the robber barons and slum lords ruled, the teeming masses were ground underfoot, and the newspapers regularly buried stories that spoke of the inequities or things "decent Americans" didn't want to consider.

There's nothing new about child molestation. It's not a sudden epidemic. It's ALWAYS been here, hidden behind closed doors and studiously ignored by those who didn't want to know.

There's nothing new about domestic violence. Until the women stood up and finally were able to state publicly, "this will not stand," most decent Americans would have been much happier to pretend it never happened.

There's nothing new about homosexuality. It's been with us since the dawn of time. But it's always been easier to pretend that it didn't exist.

There's nothing new about racism. All races of humankind have a history of denigrating and abusing their fellows--even if they were simply a neighboring tribe with a slightly different philosophy.

There has always been abortion. Only recently has it become a safe procedure. If you take away that safe option, people will go back to the methods that have been used for centuries. You won't eliminate it, you will simply drive it undercover.

What those who claim the "culture war" are saying is "We don't want to know!" They should be perfectly aware that these things will continue, out of the limelight, and by closing their eyes and repeating to themselves "it's not happening. It's not happening," they achieve nothing but the dubious advantage of fooling themselves.

Civilizations do not grow by promoting ignorance, by ignoring truth.

The "culture war," such as it is, is not between "decent people" and "purveyers of inequity" but between people who want to know the truth of things, however unpalatable, and those who'd prefer the truth be hidden from them...from all of us.

That said, it's no doubt which side of the chasm upon which I stand. I stand for reality...for truth...for revealing the pretty lie that hides the bare facts.

Call me crazy. But I'm not fighting a war. I'm stating the truth of the matter.

Won't you join me?

[MadMaddie]

1. That's why I think that the two sides will never be whole...

Those that hide their heads in the sand, don't want to be bothered with the truth. They want to insulate themselves from life and it roller coaster of ups and downs. They hide behind their church to cast their hate and to hide their own human frailties..


Then theres you and me and others who think the truth is liberating....it allows us to broaden our horizens...we are not afraid to have our perceived notions challenged....we know that loving our fellow human being is progressive and it is not a bad thing.

I stand with you....I stand for the truth....Feingold stood and told the truth....

Gore/Feingold 2008

[TallahasseeGrannie]

2. Bravo!

Well said.

The truth is often not pretty. And sometimes I prefer the quilt over my head. But I usually peek out now and then.

Thank you for reminding me to keep looking.

[Rocknrule]

3. I'm sick of their bullshit "morals"

True moral values are peace, caring for the less fortunate, equality, justice, and freedom. Their "moral values" are opposing homosexuality, non-Christianity, videogame violence, and criticism of a president who according to them was chosen by God to rule the world.

[Mythsaje]

4. All they want

is to pretend that "bad things" don't exist. Ignore the hungry, ignore abortion, ignore sexual identity, ignore rape, ignore hunger, ignore torture, ignore corporate exploitation, ignore domestic violence.

[BR_Parkway]

5. I agree. There was an article posted (shameless self promotion)

this morning outlining how many of the non-extreme evengelicals are realizing that their total system of beliefs (feed the poor, honor/protect the world God created, love thy neighbor, thou shalt not kill) is more closely aligned with the Dem party platforms than the GOP, they are also waking to the fact of how badly they've been used and abused. And an interesting discussion of how to have conversations with that group to further cement our common bonds rather than a couple of hot button issues. Worth a read:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=664802&mesg_id=664802

[Mythsaje]

6. I saw that...

I just posted a response (not to the OP, but to another poster)... I didn't respond when I first saw it because I was curious about possible responses.