Culture war
| What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! |
| Don't believe us? |
Culture wars (or, occasionally Kulturkampf[1] "Culture Struggle") is the term for the ongoing battles fought in the United States political system. Most of these battles are over things like gay rights, abortion, and the teaching of evolution. Most political observers will tell you they are sick of these wars, yet they will never give up their own side.
Many conspiracy minded people will tell you that the culture wars are merely circuses designed to disguise how the government/big business/whomever is really screwing everyone over. During the 2007-2009 recession, however, big businesses and their government enablers have themselves become a far noisier and spectacular circus attraction than whether or not scary dinosaurs caused gay neanderthal women to have spontaneous abortions.
The truth is that the culture wars threaten every individual's ideals at the deepest levels, making them intensely personal. Even though the wars are often just over symbols, they strike so deep that we feel the need to respond, in a way pocketbook issues just can't.