(I have been wanting to write this for the last few months but have not sat down and taken the time.)
There is a polite debate among those of a more conservative political and/or religious persuasion.
Let me first establish the context for this debate. The premise? assumption? conviction? that popular culture is dominated by voices hostile to those of a more conservative persuasion. Or to put it another way by voices of a more liberal (using that term loosely) political and/or religious persuasion.
By popular culture I mean the popular music industry or television or movies or even the news. What point of view dominates? The point of view that favors the state/collectivism over individual responsibility/liberty. That prefers a “believe what you want (sort of) and do what you want (sort of)” approach to religion and morality. (The “sort of” alludes to that curious tension within liberalism. Believe what you want except these things and do what you want except these things. Frankly liberalism ultimately is much more restrictive.)
And what point of view is consistently attacked? With regard to religion the point of view that some religious convictions are more true/valid/correct than others. This includes traditional/orthodox/evangelical Christianity. With regard to politics the point of view that favors individual responsibility/liberty over the state/collectivism. (And one must concede this reflects a corresponding tension within conservatism. Government should be as small as possible but must prohibit those behaviors and promote these behaviors. But I submit that in general conservatism is much less restrictive.)
(Of course there is a problem with the above schema. Politics and religion are not so one dimensional as “liberal versus conservative”. At the very least there are two dimensions – The Political Compass offers “left versus right” but also “authoritarian versus libertarian”. Some “liberals” are libertarians and therefore against statism/collectivism. Some “conservatives” are authoritarian and therefore have no problems with using the power of the state to enforce their views on personal morality.
I suggest that the dominant ideology one finds in popular culture is generally more left than right and more authoritarian than libertarian. With regard to religion either atheist/agnostic or “pretty much all religions are equal except those who do not think they are equal”.)
Let me give a few brief examples of how this plays out:
- America is bad and the rest of the world is good
- Democratic party very good and Republican party very bad
- George Bush very bad and Barack Obama unqualifiedly good
- Elective abortion is necessary or even good
- Same-sex relations are morally and/or socially neutral
- Free market capitalism is bad – especially small businesses
- Government control of economic activity is good
- White people are bad and other ethnicities are good
- The American military is bad
- Conservative/traditional/orthodox/evangelical Christianity is bad and other forms of religion are good
- Wealth and property should be redistributed from those who have to those who do not have
- Equality of outcomes is better than equality of opportunity
- Good intentions are more important than good results
- Human is bad and non-human is good
- Sexual fidelity within marriage is not important
(I know the above items may appear simplistic. I am trying to be succinct. Oh and I do not necessarily agree with the “conservative” position on all of the above.)
I submit that one can find one or more of these themes in nearly every song every television show every movie every newspaper article every news program every play every art exhibition/performance. And 2008 was a significant watershed year in which popular culture/Mainstream Media more or less declared openly what they support and what they oppose and frankly do not care.
So how do we (those of the more conservative political and/or religious persuasion) respond?
