Culture Wars

Art and the Public Purpose: Does the Country Need a Cultural Policy?

Nick Rabkin | Posted 10.26.2009 | Chicago


Nick Rabkin

The divisive and bitter culture war conflicts about race, sexuality, expressive freedom and the role of government in the arts continue to chill the politics of culture, even in the Obama era.

Cartoon: McInnis the Fossil

Shan Wells | Posted 10.09.2009 | Denver


Shan Wells

Former Congressman Scott McInnis was unlikely to stay off radar for too long, and sure enough, last week he announced his candidacy for governor of Colorado.

Moses vs. Jesus: Who is America's Prophet?

Bruce Feiler | Posted 10.06.2009 | Politics


Bruce Feiler

The themes of Moses' life -- social mobility, standing up to authority, balancing freedom and law, dreaming of a promised land -- would make any short list of America's defining traits.

Auto Tune the Culture

Gerald Sindell | Posted 09.24.2009 | Entertainment


Gerald Sindell

If you are concerned that you might live your life without hearing the music of this century's Mozart or Stravinsky then you might want to take a moment to try listening to BBC Radio 3's live stream.

The Gates of Political Distraction

Thomas Frank | Posted 08.29.2009 | Politics


Thomas Frank

Umbrage at a Harvard professor's class snobbery might derail this generation's greatest hope for actually mitigating the class divide.

The Specter of the Counterculture II: The Cunning of Desire

James Block | Posted 08.15.2009 | Politics


James Block

In the decades since the 1960s counterculture, our hypocrisy has grown, not from some native evil, but from an unrelenting sense of confusion and entrapment.

Culture War Flares Up Over American History Curriculum In Texas Classrooms

The Wall Street Journal | Posted 08.14.2009 | Politics


The fight over school curriculum in Texas, recently focused on biology, has entered a new arena, with a brewing debate over how much faith belongs in ...

Remembering My Battle Against Fundamentalists

Jim Luce | Posted 08.06.2009 | New York


Jim Luce

Our biggest accomplishment was standing up for those torn down by the TV evangelists.

Are the Culture Wars Back?

Rachel Laser | Posted 07.24.2009 | Politics


Rachel Laser

An overwhelmingly popular President and a rising chorus of Americans are imploring policymakers to replace the culture wars with culture discussions. In this new moment, engaging in partisan warfare seems simply passé.

Obama's Faith Office Full Of Conservative Culture Warriors

The American Prospect | Posted 05.09.2009 | Politics


To promote the alleged "common ground" on "abortion reduction," Joshua DuBois, the director of President Barack Obama's Office of Faith-Based and Neig...

The Pilgrim's Regress

Steven Weber | Posted 04.15.2009 | Politics


Steven Weber

The current version of Conservative Republicanism is not an ideology which stands for prosperity and freedom but for bureaucratic negligence, corporate corruption and socio-political division.

Bristol and Levi Are Forever

Michael Wolff | Posted 04.12.2009 | Politics


Michael Wolff

These "small town" people who were briefly so much better than the "urban elites" have, it would certainly seem, lost both their packaging and their moral superiority.

The Culture Wars Roll On

Andrew Sargus Klein | Posted 03.21.2009 | Politics


Andrew Sargus Klein

The arts and humanities get a pretty raw deal. It was painful to watch the purported centrists in the Senate cut out nearly $100 million worth of funds for arts, culture and education last week.

"Hannah Montana" Needs Some Sensitivity Training

Raymond Leon Roker | Posted 03.07.2009 | Entertainment


Raymond Leon Roker

Cyrus being a model for millions of kids ought to mean she'd be taught more compassion and sensitivity. A mass exodus of racially conscious fans from her audience will help drive the lesson home.

The Strange Return of the Sixties Radicals

Johann Hari | Posted 12.18.2008 | Politics


Johann Hari

There is still a distortion in our memories of the violence of the '60's. After condemning Obama for vaguely knowing Ayers, McCain boasted about his "close friendship" with Henry Kissinger -- and nobody noticed the dissonance.

An Open Letter to President-Elect Obama About Abortion: From a Pro-Obama and Pro-Life Leader

Frank Schaeffer | Posted 12.13.2008 | Politics


Frank Schaeffer

Yes, it's all about the economy. But no one should kid themselves: the culture wars have the potential to sap the energy from your best initiatives.

After the (Grand Old) Party: Don't Go Home Just Yet

Shahid Buttar | Posted 12.12.2008 | Politics


Shahid Buttar

If the crowds celebrating Obama's victory go home in 2009, his Administration will achieve disappointing results. The President-Elect will confront a variety of national and global crises.

Premature Emancipation? A Pragmatist's View of the Gay Marriage Struggle

Gary Cohan | Posted 12.06.2008 | Politics


Gary Cohan

Civil rights are not won in the war zone of national elections or State referenda but, rather, in a series of small but important evolutionary steps.

Culture of Lies

Scott Swenson | Posted 11.28.2008 | Politics


Scott Swenson

Will any brave and clear-sighted Republicans realize that rather than throwing McCain a lifeline in this election, far-right extremism has further isolated McCain, and the party, from mainstream Americans?

Ideology Takes a Breather, Maybe

Jared Bernstein | Posted 11.19.2008 | Politics


Jared Bernstein

If we play our cards right, some deeply embedded and highly destructive ideology may collapse just as hard as an overleveraged investment bank.

John McCain is Channeling Nixon Now

Dave Winer | Posted 11.04.2008 | Politics


Dave Winer

What McCain isn't telling you, and many Americans are too young to remember, is that there were two sides to the culture war of the 60s.

YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, iPods, Enough!

Judy Muller | Posted 10.27.2008 | Home


Judy Muller

Ah, for the good old days, before we were immersed in the free-floating anxiety of the nanosecond news cycle that follow us everywhere, telling us that the sky is falling.

Why Clay Aiken's Coming Out Matters

Andrew Belonsky | Posted 10.26.2008 | Entertainment


Andrew Belonsky

Aiken's outing is different in two notable, intrinsically entwined ways.

Abstinence-Only Multimillionaire Funds 527 Attack on Abortion Issue

Scott Swenson | Posted 10.17.2008 | Politics


Scott Swenson

Social conservatives -- emboldened by the addition of Sarah Palin to the ticket -- are promoting Culture War issues to shift the focus away from the economy, housing, energy, the environment and national security.

How to Win a Culture War

Susan Neiman | Posted 10.13.2008 | Politics


Susan Neiman

The culture wars are not distractions from real political business: John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin may be cynical, but conservative enthusiasm for her is not.