Bit of a side track but culture war as a term is such a broad, vague and nebulous one that I feel like it could literally apply to any and all arguments. So when is something not a "culture war"?
There's actually a "proper" answer to this that's sorta obvious. It comes from Bismarck's Kulturkampf and while it was reflected in American lexicon during the first wave of MASSIVE UNCHECKED IMMIGRATION it wasn't truly established as a term until Pat Buchanan gave his speech, which I will link at the end here.
The amazing thing is that despite this and despite as has been noted the fact that it can truly mean almost anything, the common usage has been amazingly consistent since Bismarck. It's almost always a conflict between traditionalist views and liberal views; liberal in terms of permissive or accepting rather than "political liberalism" which is why you can have such quirks as alt-right Gamers fighting for women in games to dress however while the ResetERA.com male feminists demand they COVER UP. It's still traditionalism vs. liberalism, just depends on the issue for who stands where. Similarly, it's how the alliances against filthy hair bands and violent video games could include such "political liberals" as the Gore's and Hillary as much as Pat Robertson, while certain "political conservatives" felt more comfortable criticizing it but not wanting any kind of government intervention.
One side being religious groups, be that the Roman Catholic Church in Bismarckian Germany or The 700 Club in late 1980s America is more of a factor of religious practice being highly traditionalist than anything else. The United States often has a lot of these as cross cleavages on the "culture wars" because the Judeo-Christian founding mythology runs head long into the "freedom of speech" pride. On issues where that doesn't exist like gay rights or abortion there's a lot less of the crosscutting between groups that wouldn't be allies.
My main personal gripe with the "culture wars" is how easily it grabs and dominates attention and discussion, in part because it's a lot of gut feeling based stuff, even here on the cynical intellectual salon The Bire look at how stuff will swallow up, say, the garbage thread for SERIOUS DEBATE, it's almost all "culture war" nonsense that convinces no one.
As promised, Pat Buchanan warning us about the Clintons War On America in Classic 30 Minute YouTube form:
An ending clip, described by the uploader as "The moving conclusion of Pat Buchanan's Culture War Speech"
Michael DAntonio
3 years ago
THAT GREAT 1992 RNC SPEECH - THE GREATEST SPEECH I EVER HEARD - ONE THAT HAD INSPIRED ME TO TEARS, PUNCHING THE FLOOR YELLING, "THANK YOU PAT!" THAT RNC SPEECH WAS WRITTEN AND DELIVERED BY MY 2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WRITE-IN CHOICE, THE REFORM PARTY CANDIDATE - THE GREAT PATRICK J. BUCHANAN! GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GOD BLESS PATRICK JOSEPH BUCHANAN!
Travis Hammer
8 months ago
Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot both saw the writing on the walls and predicted the problems we face today.
AIKsupporter
1 year ago
it would take 24 years for his ideas to reach the White House but better late then never
