If a white Evangelical coach can take a knee before a high school football game, then why can't a Black football player take a knee before an NFL game?
Name any topic, and I can assure you that Republicans will always weaponize it to gin up their grievance junkies by turning it into a culture war. I’m resigned to losing these culture wars. Please convince me otherwise in the comments. I’m willing to listen.
Republicans are always complaining about “Cancel Culture.” The fact is that cancel culture assumes the existence of culture, but they don’t have any, except for a culture of glorifying assault weapons and other things that help to destroy whatever culture we have as a nation. As they say, the difference between the U.S. and yogurt is that if you leave yogurt alone for 200 years, it develops culture. Our culture sucks. I heard about a visitor from Switzerland who tried to really get into the local culture in Texas. He said, “Have a nice day!” to a bubba. The bubba didn’t, so he shot the visitor. But there are some things that I like about American culture, such as Country music and Rap. I just discovered a new radio station that plays both, but I’m not sure I like the name of the station. It’s called CRAP.
Race. We Democrats often talk about how people of color, like me, are often the victims of suppression. We talk about Critical Race Theory, for example. Republicans have been exceedingly successful in using this as a weapon in their culture war. That’s what helped Youngkin become Governor in Virginia. They tell their base that we are trying to make white folks feel guilty for simply being white. And the grievance junkies believe it. We often hear Trump supporters say, “Waving the Confederate flag doesn’t make us racists!” Of course not. Being a racists makes them wave the Confederate flag.
Immigration. We also often talk about the plight of undocumented workers from South America. And Republicans always say, “They’re opening the border to criminals and rapists!” Sounds very Trumpian, and that’s how Donald Trump won in 2016. Build that wall! But with so much gun violence in America, Mexico is now willing to build the wall and they will pay for it. And it’s amazing that Republicans don’t like ISIS. It seems to me that ISIS can easily integrate into the Republican culture of mass shootings. It sickens me to hear Lauren Boebert say, “A mass shooting is a small price to pay for the right to carry out mass shootings.” And people wonder why bacteria congregate in public places. It’s a part of the culture.
Abortion. This is perhaps the most divisive issue in America right now and Republicans have their talking points to convince us that we are somehow trying to kill babies. And the current U.S. Extreme Court has obliged the grievance junkies and ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade. It’s okay for the Extreme Court to terrorize us, but the minute peaceful protesters gathered in front of Brett Kavanaugh’s house, he looked like beer in the headlights. But seriously, I don’t like living in a country that gives more rights to rapists than they give a 10 year-old who’s the victim of the rapist.
Gay rights. In Florida, they won that battle. If you want to stay out of jail there, just “Don’t say Gay!” People are now afraid to give their kids haircuts. They will be accused of “grooming” their kids.
The economy. We now have the lowest unemployment rate in decades, but Republicans focus on inflation. It’s a hot button for every American. The reality is that inflation is affecting every country in the world, but somehow, it’s Joe Biden’s fault. They don’t believe that Biden is the president of the U.S., but somehow believe that he’s the president of the whole fucking world. Not sure if this is a culture issue, but I’m sure that they’ll make it one.
And the list goes on. Any topic and they will weaponize it into a culture war. And I’m afraid that it’s a war that we can’t win. We’re not good at it. But should we even engage them in culture wars? Can we win? How?
