The Culture War's Decisive Battle has Begun

American Thinker ^ | September 08, 2008 | Herbert E. Meyer

[neverdem]

In every war there is one decisive battle.  This battle doesn't end the war; a great deal of hard fighting lies ahead.  But in retrospect it's the moment when one side's ultimate victory -- and the other side's ultimate defeat -- were sealed.  In our Civil War this decisive battle was Gettysburg.  In World War II, it was Midway.

Unexpectedly -- perhaps even astonishingly -- this year's presidential campaign is shaping up as the decisive battle in the Culture War that's been tearing apart our country for decades.

On one side are the Traditionalists.  We believe that church and State should be separate, but that religion should remain at the center of life.  We are a Judeo-Christian culture, which means we consider those ten things on a tablet to be commandments, not suggestions.  We believe that individuals are more important than groups, that families are more important than governments, that children should be raised by their parents rather than by a village, and that marriage is a sacred relationship between a man and a woman.  We believe that rights must be balanced by responsibilities, that personal freedom is a privilege we must be careful not to abuse, and that the rule of law cannot be set aside when it becomes inconvenient.

We believe in economic liberty, property rights, and in giving purposeful and industrious entrepreneurs the elbowroom they need to start and run their businesses -- and thus create jobs for all the rest of us -- with a minimum of government interference.  We recognize that people in other countries see things differently, and we are tolerant of their views.  But we believe that despite its imperfections the United States is history's most blessed country, and when attacked we will defend this country with our lives.

Tuning Out, then Tuning In

On the other side of this culture war are the Left-Wing Liberals.  They are uncomfortable with our traditions, with the inevitable inequalities of our free-market economy, and with our military power.  They dislike our values, our morality, and our unabashed displays of patriotism.  At first -- back in the 1960s -- they were content merely to develop and pursue their own radical culture within ours.  They tuned out, turned to drugs, and pushed the level of sexual license to a point our country had never known.  They were so distressed by our imperfections that they refused to recognize or celebrate our achievements.

Then they tuned in, and developed a political agenda whose logical outcome would be the overthrow of the American Revolution itself.  While we believe that power flows from God to the people, they believe the supreme power is the State, which decides what rights, if any, should be allowed to the people.  And because there is no God above the State, there also is no truth; no such thing as right or wrong, good or evil.  Since they are working to do good -- by their definition of the word -- whatever crimes they commit along the way don't matter.  But if we are bent on doing what they define as harm, they will use any legal trick in the book to stop us.  In short, the rule of law means whatever they want it to mean at any given moment.

They believe that rights are more important than responsibilities, that groups are more important than individuals, and that one's stand on public issues is more important than one's private actions or morality.  And while they are careful never to condone the tactics of our country's foreign enemies, they always see some justification in our enemies' cause.  They don't actually want us to be defeated by our foreign enemies; they wish merely to see us humbled and humiliated by them.

So great is this gulf between the Traditionalists and the Left-Wing Liberals -- and so irreconcilable are the differences -- that our decades-long political struggle has amounted to a kind of second Civil War.  And for several years now, it's been a stalemate.  This is why so many elections are so close, why so many Supreme Court decisions are split 5-4, and why we've been unable to act decisively on any of the issues that confront us - the war, the economy, energy, healthcare, border control, immigration, and all the rest.

One way or the other, the Culture War's stalemate is about to be broken.

Study history, and you will learn that there are two kinds of wars:  There are short military ones, such as World Wars I and II, in which armies and navies collide until one side wins and the other loses.  And there are long ideological wars, such as the Cold War, in which short bursts of fighting are separated by long periods of political maneuvering.  In these long ideological wars, the outcome isn't determined by firepower but by will.  That's because the aggressor's objective isn't to kill the defenders, but to wear them down until they no longer have the courage and stamina to keep resisting.

The defenders win only when they stop merely resisting -- in other words, trying just to not lose -- and start playing offense.  For example, by the late 1970s the Free World's will to resist the Soviet Union's endless challenges had nearly evaporated.  Détente was just a palatable word for surrender.  And then -- unexpectedly and virtually at the same moment -- three individuals most people had never before heard of exploded onto the scene and into power.  They were Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John-Paul II - none of whom, by the way, had any foreign policy experience before taking office.  Their objective wasn't to "not lose" the Cold War, but rather to end it with victory for the Free World.  Together they threw the switch from playing defense to playing offense, stunning the Kremlin's over-confident leaders who believed that history was on their side.  Within a decade, the Cold War was over and the Soviet Union had ceased to exist.

McCain Throws the Switch

By choosing Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate -- and by staking his own claim to the presidency on "Country First" more than on any specific policy initiative -- John McCain has thrown the switch and put us Traditionalists onto the offense.  By doing so he has unleashed the energy and the will to victory among Traditionalists that have been dormant for so long the Left-Wing Liberals mistakenly assumed we'd lost.  And by taking the over-confident Left-Wing Liberals so completely by surprise, McCain has stunned them into revealing themselves for the vicious phonies that they are.

As a result, what started out as a typical campaign between Republicans and Democrats -- each party trying to hold its base while attracting enough independent voters to win -- has exploded into the Culture War's decisive battle.

Commanding the Traditionalist armies is a war hero whose personal courage and patriotism have overwhelmed any disagreements within the coalition about specific policies and issues.  His second-in-command is a pro-life hockey mom with genuine executive talent, star quality, and the most valuable asset of all in politics: a common touch.  Commanding the Left-Wing Liberal armies is an elegant, eloquent cosmopolitan whose most striking talent is his ability to push past everyone else to the front of the line.  His second-in-command is the U.S. Senate's leading plagiarist, whose only undeniable talent is his ability to use Senate confirmation hearings as a platform from which to trash honorable Republican appointees such as Bill Clark, Robert Bork, and Clarence Thomas.

In the coming weeks we're going to hear a lot from these four candidates and their surrogates about the war, the economy, energy, healthcare, border control, immigration, and all the other issues that confront us.  And we'll be talking and arguing about these issues among ourselves - at the dinner table, with our colleagues at work, with our friends and neighbors at barbeques and at the kids' ball games.

But this election isn't really about these issues.  This election is about who we are.

Herbert E. Meyer served during the Reagan Administration as Special Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence and Vice Chairman of the CIA's National Intelligence Council.  He is host and producer of The Siege of Western Civilization and author of How to Analyze Information.

[neverdem]

By choosing Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate -- and by staking his own claim to the presidency on "Country First" more than on any specific policy initiative -- John McCain has thrown the switch and put us Traditionalists onto the offense. By doing so he has unleashed the energy and the will to victory among Traditionalists that have been dormant for so long the Left-Wing Liberals mistakenly assumed we'd lost.

I have to wonder. Did McCain appreciate that his choice of Palin would make this a battle royal over culture - what he always seemed to want to avoid? He was the last guy that anybody would expect to be a culture warrior. Who can forget his attack on Robertson and Falwell in 2000? With the exception of foreign and fiscal policy, McCain rarely sided with "Traditionalists." All's fair in loove and war. At least McCain is playing to win. Maverick, indeed!

And by taking the over-confident Left-Wing Liberals so completely by surprise, McCain has stunned them into revealing themselves for the vicious phonies that they are.

Not for the "Traditionalists" who knew as much, but it could well be more than enough to lift the scales from the eyes of Oprah's huge audience.

Here's the previous thread:

The Culture War's Decisive Battle has Begun

The original title has no period. IIRC, I wrote to the admin moderator that what was posted was just an excerpt early in the morning. It deserves to be reposted. This analysis by the author is a bull's eye. It's been a domestic cold war for 40 years.

[PhilosopherStones]

Sarah is causing apoplectic fits over in DUmmie land.

They are outing themselves left and right (well, left and left, anyway). Roughly half of them are now down to admittingly publicly “Screw principles, we HAVE to win whatever the cost!”

They myth of the “compassionate and tolerant” left is vaporizing under the withering attack of Sarah “SCUD” Cuda’s missiles...

[ghostrider]

bump for later

[polymuser]

"Commanding the Left-Wing Liberal armies is an elegant, eloquent cosmopolitan whose most striking talent is his ability to push past everyone else to the front of the line.

His second-in-command is the U.S. Senate's leading plagiarist, whose only undeniable talent is his ability to use Senate confirmation hearings as a platform from which to trash honorable Republican appointees such as Bill Clark, Robert Bork, and Clarence Thomas."

Yep.

[95 Bravo]

I heard Laura Ingraham call Gov. Palin “Sarahcuda” on her show last week. Oh, how true.......
I hope she chews ‘em up & spits ‘em out!

[GonzoGOP]

have to wonder. Did McCain appreciate that his choice of Palin would make this a battle royal over culture - what he always seemed to want to avoid? He was the last guy that anybody would expect to be a culture warrior."

To stick with the decisive battle analogy. The Japanese at Midway had based there entire strategy around facing Halsey, known for his aggressive tactics and dogma of charging in regardless of the odds. Instead the US fleet was commanded by Fletcher, who was conservative to a fault, and Spruence, who was the master of setting traps for an unwary enemy. The result was that the Japanese planned one battle because they concentrated on what the enemy was likely to do instead of concentrating on what the enemy could do.

Governor Palin was no secret. FR has been full of posts from her fan club and I have been talking about her to friends and family for over a year. Yet Admiral Obama had concentrated his entire strategy on having to face two white guys (race card, Washington insider) and having Biden take on Romney in the debates. It is obvious that they didn't even assign an intern to read FR and come up with a set of strategies to take on every possible candidate that the right was talking about. As a result they got caught by surprise when McCain didn't do what they expected. But given his reputation their lack of preparation is unexplainable except by the arrogance of hope.

Just as WWII didn't end at Midway this campaign doesn't end at the conventions. There are still the debates but Obama hasn't shown any flair in this venue and Palin vs Biden looks like a mismatch. But McCain must be careful not to fall into the the same trap as Obama did.

I hope that McCain has one staffer that does nothing but come up with contingency plans for every hair brained stunts that the Dem's might pull. They need to have contingency plans for the Dems replacing Biden or Obama with Hillary. Or for some manufactured "October Surprise". Just as his Grandfather battered his way across the South Pacific in WWII, McCain needs to balance staying on the offensive with staying out of the enemies trap.

[RedRover]

Excellent analysis!

[goldfinch]

bump for later

[WilliamWallace1999]

Bump for email list.

[semantic]

In World War II, it was Midway Stalingrad.

Japan was never going to win WWII, while the Germans had a very good chance. If Russia hadn't held firm, the Nazis would still be in control of Europe.

[lonevoice]

This is an inspiring article with excellent commentary at post #1 and post #7

[icwhatudo]

After seeing the title it made me think of (and make) this:

[harrym]

When I talk to my socially left-leaning friends here in good old S.F. (that means practically all my friends) about the culture war I use an analogy of society being like a sea anemonae (sp?). It has a fringe surrounding the center body where the vital organs and solid meat are. The fringe is as vital to the animal as is the center, it filters out dangerous elements and holds them away from the healthy center. It is unfortunate that, since sometime in the 1960’s, it was decided that putting the fringe into the center of society was a good thing. WRONG. Trying to normalize and accept as equivalent all those social elements which were on the fringe has exposed the main body of society to those elements which should have been filtered out. The rampant drug addiction, single parent births, lowering of standards of speech and actions in media all point to the fact that our society has lost its filtering system and is being sickened by the poisons seeping into the main body. This has been brought about by the acceptance of moral equivalency and a cheapening of values. Solution? I don’t know, it’s taken us fifty years to get this way (1968 seems to be a terminal year). There was a revolution in the ‘60s and it is still affecting us today, maybe we need another one to set things aright.

[Mr. Silverback]

bump for later reading

[AndyJackson]

Another great article by some more “bitter” folks taking on you porked out and stoners.

[semantic]

whose most striking talent is his ability to push past everyone read a teleprompter.

[Enchante]

"Roughly half of them are now down to admittingly publicly “Screw principles, we HAVE to win whatever the cost!”"

Well that's been the Demagogue operating principle for as long as I can remember but they don't usually admit it openly.

[jazusamo]

Excellent! Thanks for the ping, Red.

[GonzoGOP]

In World War II, it was Stalingrad.

No I would say Midway is the correct analogy to the Palin pick. Midway was determined by the Americans doing something that the Japanese didn’t expect. As a result the carefully laid, but inflexible plans of the enemy were fatally disrupted and their fleet damaged to an extent from which it could not recover. The Japanese Admirals actually had a word for their mindset before the battle, the Victory Disease.

Stalingrad was a brutal, graceless slugging match. There were few surprises there and the battle turned not on great generalship from above, but on the determination and resourcefulness of the men at the front. The Russians simply decided to keep fighting and not give more ground. This forced the enemy to fight on their terms, in a city where the German advantage in aircraft and tanks didn’t matter.

In current politics this is equivalent to the Drill Here, Drill Now debate in the darkened house chambers. The heroes of the house decided not go surrender. They forced a debate on energy under circumstances unfavorable to the Democrats where the reporting was by new media negating the Democrats support of the MSM.