Culture War

Culture War

"The persistence of the Culture War" by Ross Douthat has a few critical points about the existence of a Culture War with respect to the 2012 elections. He argues that although the social issues that mainly drive the Culture War had weight in the elections, the debate over the fiscal and economic status of our country and the electorates' competing plans were far more pressing of issues than same sex marriage, medical marijuana, or abortion. He then closed with an interesting and conflicting perspective. "Plessy v. Ferguson, decided in 1896, is more famous today than, say, the Panic of 1893.The debates over Prohibition and women’s suffrage loom larger than Warren Harding’s early-1920s tax cuts." Basically, the social issues, and the accompanying Culture War that the debate over these issues create, are the ones that define our history, despite our elections being dominated by economic concerns. The Boston Herald article specifically discussed the Culture War aspect of Marijuana, and how it could not be considered a "Culture War" as it often only impacts those already using drugs, and not the majority of Americans. Therefore, it establishes that the concept of a "Culture War" must be a combination of issues that impacts everyone, which few issues do. The LA Times article brought up the question of language in the digital age in respect to the Culture War. It talked about how the AP will now be using the words "husband" and "wife" to describe the spouses of same sex couples where before they had "generally" been replaced with the words "partner" or "couple."  It was an interesting take on how language can impact the concept of a Culture War even in the digital age. 

Frank, Nathaniel. "AP Pronounces Them Wife and Wife." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

Douthat, Ross. "The Persistence of the Culture War." Campaign Stops: The Persistence of the Culture War. New York Times, 7 Feb. 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

Sharpe, Robert. "War on Marijuana." Boston Herald. Boston Herald, 23 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.