After reading a ridiculous amount of
information on the “culture war” in America, I have concluded the “culture war”
in America is little more than semantics. Yes, there are different cultures
with different beliefs, which do conflict. If this is your definition of a
culture war, than one does indeed exist. In contrast, if your definition is
when opposing sides conflict in violent battles, resulting in one side winning,
then a culture war does not exist. As these articles mention, there have always
been different views in culture and politics and there will always be opposing views. Nowadays the
media has overhyped the topic of opposing sides, deeming it a “culture war”. By
definition, I believe there is a culture war yet it is not a big issue. People
are not necessarily more opinioned now than they have been in the past; the
surplus of media merely makes it seem that way. If one angry student, for
example, dislikes an AP Government assignment, s/he can complain on twitter,
facebook, the news and most other sources of media. The media can then take one
upset student’s complaint to the masses. A problem that ignites more political
and cultural firestorms than is actually necessary. A problem that has lead
many to believe there is a bigger cultural war than actually exists.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Is there a culture war?
Elizabeth Tavolier
AP Gov
Hour 1
AP Gov
Hour 1
Is there a culture war in America?
America is not a culturally divided nation. In his article for the Huffington Post, Craig Crawford writes that Obama has taken bounds in winning America's culture war. Crawford says that Obama is succeeding in uniting opinions of the middle class toward a common goal. I would argue that there wasn't a culture war for Obama to win. Throughout history America has become more and more culturally united. It's natural that as our country continues to grow and mature that its citizens would find ways to work out and unite their feelings. In his article "Are the 'Culture Wars' Alive and Well or is America Really Purple?" Stuart Muszynski acknowledges the indecisiveness of America's citizens to lean one way or the other. Democratic or Republican. I'm with Stuart. I think our country is purple. I feel that the majority of our population is divided in their own opinions of a political issue, never mind the opinions of other people.
Overall, I feel that all things considered, America is culturally united. In a nation as culturally diverse as a America, it's expected that there will be differences in opinion. If one were to look at surveys on various political issues such as gay marriage, abortion, gun control, etc. yes, there would be overwhelming differences in opinion that practically divide the nation in half statistically. E.J Dionne acknowledges this in his article Is the Culture War the Wrong War? when he discusses the percentages of pro-life versus pro-choice citizens. He even references how within these general differences opinion are even more differences in opinions. There are those who feel strongly about the matter and those who just barely lean to one side. In the Pew Forum, Hunter discusses these surveys arguing that they ignore much of America's population by using generalizations. Hunter states that "surveys are good, but they don't tell the whole story of culture." All of America can't be represented in one single statistic. In order to get a true representation of division Hunter argues, scientists would need to use what's called "methodological individualism" to reach every American on an individual level. Wolfe counters this by arguing that "structuralism" categorizes these individual feelings and negates this individual opinion. I don't think the individual opinion should be negated. I think it's necessary to acknowledge the difference in extremes in opinion rather than just opinion as a whole.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/01/why-the-culture-war-is-the-wrong-war/304502/?single_page=true
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-crawford/winning-the-culture-war_b_2536151.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stuart-muszynski/culture-wars-values_b_1271751.html
Overall, I feel that all things considered, America is culturally united. In a nation as culturally diverse as a America, it's expected that there will be differences in opinion. If one were to look at surveys on various political issues such as gay marriage, abortion, gun control, etc. yes, there would be overwhelming differences in opinion that practically divide the nation in half statistically. E.J Dionne acknowledges this in his article Is the Culture War the Wrong War? when he discusses the percentages of pro-life versus pro-choice citizens. He even references how within these general differences opinion are even more differences in opinions. There are those who feel strongly about the matter and those who just barely lean to one side. In the Pew Forum, Hunter discusses these surveys arguing that they ignore much of America's population by using generalizations. Hunter states that "surveys are good, but they don't tell the whole story of culture." All of America can't be represented in one single statistic. In order to get a true representation of division Hunter argues, scientists would need to use what's called "methodological individualism" to reach every American on an individual level. Wolfe counters this by arguing that "structuralism" categorizes these individual feelings and negates this individual opinion. I don't think the individual opinion should be negated. I think it's necessary to acknowledge the difference in extremes in opinion rather than just opinion as a whole.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/01/why-the-culture-war-is-the-wrong-war/304502/?single_page=true
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-crawford/winning-the-culture-war_b_2536151.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stuart-muszynski/culture-wars-values_b_1271751.html
War of the Cultures: An Epic Saga by Tristan "Lightning Dupree" Cook-Ziegler
Tristan Cook-Ziegler
Is
There a Culture War?
This
article has some interesting points; I believe there isn’t really a culture war
as there is a culture shift. I don’t necessarily believe there is a war because
as time goes by things change. There are certainly those who fight the change
and there will always continue to be. I think part of the reason that the
present is being labeled a “war” is because of the large population of
baby-boomers, who tend to be more traditional and conservative. I think the reason
the conflict that has arisen lately is because the baby-boomers voice is
collectively very large. Large enough that when change starts to occur the
boomers can speak out in enough numbers that people listen instead of
disregarding them as the minority traditionalists who’s voices have otherwise
been drowned out in the past. I also believe that because most politicians fall
into the baby-boom age gap they are more likely to support legislation that
benefits their ideals and desires instead of the ideals of the young, which,
I’m assuming for the case of this argument, they would deem too radical. The
lack of free market restrictions also helps fuel this struggle because it gives
large organizations reason to lobby political leaders into supporting specific
minority wants in order to secure votes. An example of this is the large
agri-business corporations that continue to drain the government of money for
unneeded farm subsidies. When most of the baby-boomers die I believe the so
called “culture war” that is taking place will return to the way it was before
– the old, traditionalist minority being phased out without a real threat to
progressive, change driven mindsets of the young who usher in the new eras of
contemporary social standards.
Is There Really a Culture War?
In the 2006 Pew Forum exchange between James Davison Hunter and Alan Wolf, as the two speakers came to agree, the debate over the existence of a culture war became more of a debate over the nature of and interpretations of this culture war. As Hunter pointed out, “the debate over the culture war in some respects is a debate between those who take the politics of culture perspective versus people like me who take the culture of politics perspective.” Wolfe refuted this use of “methodological individualism, which looks at how individuals think and act...tends to downplay the importance of more timeless and permanent institutions and structures,” or longstanding cultural traditions and viewpoints. Regardless of their perspectives on culture – whether they believed that culture drives politics or vice versa – both men seemed to agree that a culture war existed in the United States. Wolfe’s main argument was that “we're somehow divided between traditionalists, who want to get back to the old-time religion and old moral values, and more modern people, who are much more individualistic and kind of libertarian in their social views...it is not a division between red state and blue state America; it's a division inside every person...[And] the culture war in its essence is really about how conservatives within each religious tradition have found more in common with each other than they've found with liberals within their own tradition.” After discussing the religious implications of the culture war, the two speakers began to talk about the idea of the “middle” Americans who do not take a strong viewpoint on cultural issues. As Amy Sullivan of The Washington Monthly pointed out, “James [Hunter], you don't seem to think that there is necessarily a unifying philosophy that draws this middle together. And certainly your focus on the elites would show that the elites tend to be...the ones who frame the debates and drive the debates. And perhaps it doesn't matter if there is a middle that tends to agree on a lot of things...if the elites are on either side and are driving that argument, there is a culture war regardless.” Ultimately, Sullivan’s point – or rather, Hunter’s point – that a culture war will exist as long as elite citizens occupy both sides of a debate summarizes the speakers’ general conclusion.
Articles for further exploration of the culture war theory:
- http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/01/why-the-culture-war-is-the-wrong-war/304502/?single_page=true
- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/us/04iht-letter04.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
- http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,97659,00.html
Is There Really a Culture War?
For many years
now, America has been facing the problem commonly known as a culture war. There
has always been the two dominant political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats.
The Republicans have always stuck to the traditional view whereas the Democrats’
views are more libertarian. Even though their views are very opposite, it seems
that the parties have always been able to compromise to achieve a common goal
until recently. The division in the United States has come from the shift of
society’s culture. The conservatives want the original culture of the U.S.’s
society, the god-fearing, Christian-based morals and values. Whereas the
libertarians want a more secular society, like it is today, where everyone and
everything is equally accepted. The differences between these two cultures
cause conflict because laws and politics are all reflected upon these
belief systems. Instead of the parties in Congress and government compromising
and setting aside their beliefs to work together, the parties have the “all-or-nothing”
attitude, no compromising. The beliefs and values in people’s culture have
become more flamboyant in today’s politics, making it harder on America as a
whole. Even citizens of America have become more divided. If you associate
yourself with a certain party, you could get a lot of backlash for your beliefs.
There is much hatred and anger because of these differing views in today’s
society and people do not feel like a united country. America is not getting the work done that is needed
to pull us out of this bad time because of this cultural divide. Something must
be done in order to get the government and politicians of the United States to
meet one another half-way.
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/edsall-the-culture-war-and-the-jobs-crisis/
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/the-persistence-of-the-culture-war/
Mariah Schlossmann
Is There Really a Culture War?
A culture war does exist in our society, but not to the extreme extent that the media makes it out to
be. A culture war, by its definition, is a struggle between two sets of conflicting cultural values. Thats
it- nothing more, nothing less. Of course there are conflicting cultural values in our country, because
we live in a place where not everybody has the exact same opinion on every issue that is presented. The
majority of Americans unknowingly participate in this so called “culture war” by stating their opinions
that may not be the same as someone else’s. The people who are really controlling this war are the
politicians. They’re the people who make us feel inadequate if we don’t choose one side to be on. They
drive all of us to choose one political party or the other, and there’s really no in between. So, is there a
culture war? By its own definition, yes. This “culture war” is so drawn out by journalists and media
heads today to make it seem like our country is actively participating in this bloody battle. But the truth
of it is, we’re not really all that divided, not more than we have been in the past, and not more than we
will be in the future.
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.
Culture War
Micki Bear
March 4, 2013
In the Pew Forum
article, the participants mainly discussed the different perspectives of
looking at the concept of a culture war, as well as the implications of
religion in politics. James Hunter discussed the four approaches to looking at
the apparent culture war: conceptual and methodological, theoretical,
empirical, and perspectival. During his monologue, he discusses his evolution
of thought over the American culture war. Having originally been skeptical of
the concept, he soon came to believe the culture war was really a divide of
methodological individualism; social scientists would need to look at the
preferences of individuals. Hunter believes public conflict is derived from the
beliefs of the elite. Surveys often average American really do not reflect
public culture and opinion accurately. Those surveys are not truly active and
motivated to participate in public politics or for the public good. Overall,
Hunter sums up his article in stating "the debate over the culture war in
some respects is a debate between those who take the politics of culture
perspective versus people...who take the culture of politics perspective."
From this argument he is claiming there really is no debate.
Alan Wolfe's
monologue focuses on the importance of the individual. He discusses the
difference between traditionalists and modernists. This theoretical confliction
is imbedded in the conflicting religious views. He discusses how different
religions are able to separate church from state to create a better state
system. But, there are religions who still tie the church to state in little
ways, which truly make a big impact. His most straightforward statement
discusses how politics became so important to people in the United States that
their political views greatly influenced their religious and theoretical views.
The discussion
portion of this article really focused on Alan Wolfe's opinions. Many of the
journalists were curious to hear more relating to the conservative perspective
of Protestants in relations to Catholics, as well as the religious influences
in politics. Also, they discussed the onset of a cultural war in England.
There
really is no culture war. Many journalists perceive the differing views of
Americans, both political and religious, as a great divide among the citizens
of our nation. It does make sense that there are moral divides among issues
such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and social security; however, these issues
have always existed. They have now just come to light because of the evolving
society in which we live. As for the religious conflict in this culture war,
religious division in politics has always existed. Religious leaders have
influenced voters for decades. Today, it is much less of a culture war, but
actually a war of politicians. Politicians have driven American society apart
from their centrist views towards polar right-wing and left-wing parties. If
politicians were not so divisive and tenacious on issues, Americans would not
have to follow suit.
Evanne
Hefty
Government
Hour 3
Is
There A Culture War?
If
you average out the opinions expressed in the pewforum article, it is pretty
unclear if a culture war in our country actually exists or not. On one side you
have James Hunter saying that the there is this huge polarization. He argues
that the culture that once had huge divisions in our country such as religion
still solidly exists today and that this is a huge factor on politics. There
are extremes of about seven percent on each side of the spectrum. On the other
hand, Alan Wolff disagrees and says that really there isn’t anything big enough
to be considered a “war”. His point being that political issues determine
people’s religious and philosophical views (as shown through his example of the
Southern Baptist Convention endorsing the Roe v Wade decision). The biggest
point I picked out of the article (and from some of my chosen ones) is that
most Americans don’t participate or even really recognize this “culture
war”. They are in the middle and so only
really notice conflicting views if they actually impact their own lives
directly. Generally, it seems that even if this war did exist most people don’t
care.
When incorporating
the three articles I choose, the opinion seems to be strongly in favor that there
is a culture war. Of course they differ in their ideas about the war, and how
important and or strong it is, how it’s changing (becoming more important or
less) and what really applies to the definition of a culture war. Examples of
its existence include the attacks on moral issues such as firebombing abortion
clinics and controversy over gay rights as well as changes in ideas of issues
relating to marriage. Although some of the articles I read are in the middle or
of dissenting opinion of a culture war, when ideas are combined from all of
them it is obvious there is some sort of culture war in America , its strength and importance
being more at debate than its actual existence.
Culture War!
So in the packet it says, "Then- write a short explanation (no more than a page) as" and just leaves off there, so I decided it meant to write a summary! :) yyyaaaaaaaayyyy
Mr. Schill- I tried
Summary of the article:
Critics look for conflict where it is the weakest. The average American is not dealing with very much conflict and most people live their life “away from the front lines”. Sometimes something will happen, for example a daughter getting pregnant before marriage or a son coming out of the closet and these normal people will be caught up in drama and conflict. Based on public opinion surveys, it seems that you end up with five to seven percent of the American population on each side who represent the white hot core of opposition. When one starts to exclude people, culture wars tend to become violent. The power of culture is symbolic. When in a time of war, the culture aspect of it is the center-most part of the war. The bloodiest conflicts seem to be fought over symbols. There is a debate between those who take the politics of culture perspective and some who take the politics the culture of politics perspective. America is divided between traditionalists and some who are and in a way libertarian in their social views. The traditionalists want to get back to the “old-time” religion and more old moral values whereas the libertarian type are more modern and individualistic. Some of the most divisive conflicts in America are within particular religions. Issues involving gay marriage, abortion and other issues that involve the body seen huge in comparison the issues like torture and economic inequality. Abortion had been the longest standing and most contentious. Culture wars lurk beneath the surface of public life. Some events act like triggers that bring the conflict to the surface and politicalize it in ways that recognize the most.
Sources and Answer:
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/the-persistence-of-the-culture-war/
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/worlds-best-selling-book/2012/may/17/culture-war-obama-endorses-same-sex-marriage/
http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/02/ending-the-culture-wars/205348/
Mr. Schill- I tried
Culture Wars
Summary of the article:
Critics look for conflict where it is the weakest. The average American is not dealing with very much conflict and most people live their life “away from the front lines”. Sometimes something will happen, for example a daughter getting pregnant before marriage or a son coming out of the closet and these normal people will be caught up in drama and conflict. Based on public opinion surveys, it seems that you end up with five to seven percent of the American population on each side who represent the white hot core of opposition. When one starts to exclude people, culture wars tend to become violent. The power of culture is symbolic. When in a time of war, the culture aspect of it is the center-most part of the war. The bloodiest conflicts seem to be fought over symbols. There is a debate between those who take the politics of culture perspective and some who take the politics the culture of politics perspective. America is divided between traditionalists and some who are and in a way libertarian in their social views. The traditionalists want to get back to the “old-time” religion and more old moral values whereas the libertarian type are more modern and individualistic. Some of the most divisive conflicts in America are within particular religions. Issues involving gay marriage, abortion and other issues that involve the body seen huge in comparison the issues like torture and economic inequality. Abortion had been the longest standing and most contentious. Culture wars lurk beneath the surface of public life. Some events act like triggers that bring the conflict to the surface and politicalize it in ways that recognize the most.
Sources and Answer:
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/the-persistence-of-the-culture-war/
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/worlds-best-selling-book/2012/may/17/culture-war-obama-endorses-same-sex-marriage/
http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/02/ending-the-culture-wars/205348/
Is there really a culture war?
There is a culture war, but the majority of Americans do not participate in it. The average American does not pay much attention to or deal with this “war” on a day to day basis. The media makes it to be as if the culture war will turn into an actual bloody war, but in reality they make it seem bigger than it truly is. This debate is divided between traditionalists and some who are and in a way libertarian in their social views. American politics are no longer about class or race, but rather the body and values, moral codes and lifestyles are the primary objects of disagreement.
-Culture WAR-
This is an interesting topic. I think we've covered it exhaustively.
Here are the main points of the discussion:
JH
·
Political versus cultural
war
o
Culture drive pol or
politics drive culture?
·
Skewed b/c extreme ends are loud whereas middle
is quiet—make 12-15% on each end, less than half of those are active
o
Middle not clearly defined or purposeful
·
Media/political elites have huge role in
polarizing debates…
·
Culture is only symbolic (?)
AW
·
Must look at both individual behavior and focus
on timeless institutions, focusing on either exclusively downplays tht other.
·
Division between and within people:
traditionalist (old religion and morals) and modern people (indiv. adnd social
libertarian)
o
“flexidox”
·
“The point I want to make is this: if the notion
of the right to life is so culturally embedded, if it is supposed to have such
deep religious roots, if it is supposed to be one of those timeless things and
then politics is epiphenomenal against that, how could it possibly change so
radically? It seems to me that what we witnessed in this shift from one side to
the other on this issue was in fact politics becoming much more important than
religion. It wasn't that religion was the timeless thing at all. In its new
formulation of these issues, the Southern Baptist Convention and its leaders
talk about accommodationism between state and church rather than strict
separation of state and church.
·
But, again, all of these things suggest to me
that what happened in the United States, using this as an example, is that
politics was enormously important for people, to the point where their position
on a political issue determined their theological and religious views, and not
the other way around. It couldn't have been that religious and theological
views came first and political views came second and led to this change. It had
to be the other way around.”7
·
Religion will (hopefully) return to a “suspicion of politics, a suspicion of too much of
a worldly engagement in what are very much political rather than timeless
matters.”
·
Instead of disagreements between religions, it’s
now within religios groups: liberal vs conservative
·
22 But also, under the surface, movement towards
united religions/hostile between rel
o
Not a cath/prot political coalition (or prot/jew,
islam..)
o
Didn’t
really happen yet, even with Romney’s MORMONISM
·
No real, big
issues in America, so the idea of culture wars filled the gap.
Opened to questions, covered specifics about
immigration, England/Eiurope, other points I have added in above… judges aren’t
going to be bad, we can trust that... lots of stuff about specific people that
probably isn’t relevant anymore…
Here're my articles:
- http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/the-persistence-of-the-culture-war/
- http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/01/why-the-culture-war-is-the-wrong-war/304502/
- TIME website doesn't have the full article, see http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2126664,00.html
Is there a culture war? Yeah, but it's not nearly as important, widespread, or passionate as the media make it seem. For the most part Americans don't care too much about the issues that (according to the political world) seem to be tearing the country in half. The media and the people entertained by the media need an issue to latch onto, and this provides that "hook." It seems to be driven by the differences between the conservative religious force in our society and the more modern, independent style of thinking. These have always existed, but now the News feels compelled to argue about which is "better." From a wider perspective this isn't so bad, and it's a good way to keep extremists' energy focused on something non-destructive, even if it is annoying for the rest of us.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Abbott v. Abbott, a recent case that you may have heard about in the news
Abbott v. Abbott
If you're wondering what ne exeat means, it is essentially: the right to restrain someone from leaving a specific country. In this case is refers to a little boy who was taken to Texas from Chile after his parents received a divorce and a ne exeat restraint was placed on the boys custody only allowing him to leave Chile if both parents were consenting. The boys father, who only had visitational rights, wasn't cool with his ex-wife taking the boy to Texas. If it sounds cool to you check it out.
Interesting SC Case for "Hear Ye, Hear Ye"
This environmentally-focused case from 1981 involved Milwaukee. Illinois charged Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Sewerage Commission, and the Milwaukee County Metropolitan Sewage Commission, among other WI cities, of polluting Lake Michigan from untreated sewage overflows. I found this case fascinating because our current waste water treatment plant seems to be state-of-the-art, and because environmental law in general is a compelling subject. Look here for more written information on the case.
Welcome!
Welcome to the adventure that is AP Government. This is a site to which you can post cool stuff, links for your current events articles, and just about anything class related. We will be using this for various reasons including stuff that you want to show others in the class. You will post some of your musings here, and this could/should/will enable you to stay focused on course content as we speed our way through the semester.
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