Why Are Republicans Committed To Losing The Culture War?
Irina Tsukerman
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Despite having the best possible conditions for throttling the old enemy – communists and fellow travelers – in cultural and educational institutions and the media, Republicans remain as determined as always to wrestle defeat from the jaws of victory.
Having a Republican administration, Republican majorities in Senate and House, and a slew of conservative judges appointed within the past year apparently is not enough of an encouragement and motivation to go after the intersectionalist elements on their own turf.
Everyone in the conservative Republican circles seems to agree on one thing: the progressives have taken hold of Hollywood, colleges, publications, and the arts, and are taking full control of children’s hearts and minds from early childhood by dominating public school education and trying to destroy any chances for alternatives. The solution is likewise self-explanatory: opposing this takeover by any means possible, and certainly by funding the kind of educational and cultural programming that instills critical thinking skills and promotes conservative values.
However, despite some modest legislative and executive successes, the brunt of the grassroots work necessary to implement such changes on the ground level has not even started. The obvious explanation for that is the shortage in funding towards the development of cultural institutions and extracurricular educational programming that would attract young talent. Likewise, despite a plethora of outlets for conservative political activism, there are few to no options for conservative cultural development, including funding for exciting new media outlets aimed at young professionals students. Conservative humor lurks in the shadows, not daring to peek into the daylight. Conservative moviemaking is limited to Clint Eastwood. Conservative discourse is still treated as something either reserved for the elites or “deplorable” and “risque” rather than normalized in all sorts of social settings.
If “democracy dies in darkness”, then conservatism dies through inaction.
Death by overtalking seems to be the fate that awaits most of the so-called activist. As for the most loyal of Trump donors and supporters, they are as much to blame for this state of affairs as anyone else. As President Trump’s appointment of various ambassadors has demonstrated, there is no shortage of Republican donors. They are not shy about supporting the rising conservative stars, particularly if they personally benefit from the arrangement. Not only do they get a friendly politician in office, but with the president they have funded, they now get to go abroad and have a good time in a prestigious position. Yet when it comes down to the hard work of funding conservative programming, they are nowhere to be found. The same people who claim to be interested in winning the culture wars, and who welcomed President Trump precisely because of his perception as the slayer of political correctness and the winner of cultural wars, they actually do nothing to promote the spirit of his agenda. There is no general without an army, and right now, the army seems more interested in traveling to friendly countries than in doing the hard work of identifying, recruiting, and educating new troops.
There is no fighting cultural wars merely with campaign managers. Campaign managers do not have access to mass culture; they are responsible for spreading the message, not being the outlets for that message. Enemies of freedom are winning because its friends are too disinterested to to invest their time, energy, and money into worthwhile projects that will change the ideological playing field for the generations to come.
And to the extent there is any support for conservative education or journalism, conservatives, as usual, make a fatal mistake of isolating themselves in conservative safe spaces, wrapping themselves in layers of bubbles, and whispering sweet nothings that do not survive the hardships of real life skirmishes with battle-hardened progressives.
Conservative colleges and outlets are not a real answer to winning cultural wars. Infiltrating and taking over cultural institutions, and going after independents is key to becoming the real majority, and conversely, winning future elections in decisive numbers, rather than scraping by thanks to the incompetence of political opponents.
Republicans who think they are being so loyal to their party and president should be ashamed of themselves. Through laziness and short-sightedness they are betraying everything they stand for. Given such lack of investment in rebuilding American society, how are these so-called Republicans and Trump supporters any different from the RINOs they decry after every legislative battle? Where is the focus on meaningful action?
Leave the talking points to the pundits. Go build a better future, and be quick about it before these latest Republican victories become our last.
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