Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Culture wars are a weight on the nation's soul

Sojourner's Magazine looks at issues from the viewpoint of progressive Christians. One of their postings says:

Want to know how to win a culture war? Don't fight one.

A culture war is weight on a nation's soul, especially one that has become perpetual. It also doesn't accomplish much except for those leading the charge. The leaders benefit because they raise money and wield (limited) power. But to do so, they must rouse the populace against an enemy (and if there isn't an enemy they make one).

Though a culture war tends not to make much progress, there are casualties. And the next casualty might be health care reform. The reason is that some are trying to tie reform to the abortion cause.

The way out of a culture war is to search for common ground rather than for emphasizing the differences. Naturally, those at the forefront of the war don't like such efforts because it undermines their fundraising ability. In the case of abortion, reframing the debate around abortion reduction appears to be making headway.

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