The Culture War Part One: The Sheer Size of It

In my latest piece for Hollywood in Toto, I ask the questions nobody else is asking about the Culture War:

What are the victory conditions for the Culture War? What would winning look like? Everybody wants to fight it (or, let’s face it, look like they’re fighting it), but very few define what it means to win.

We know what the War on Drugs is supposed to accomplish: end the use of illegal drugs. The War on Terror is supposed to end the use of terrorism as a tactic, even though nobody got very serious about fighting it and our leaders refuse to name the enemy. But what about the Culture War?

Is the Culture War supposed to drive leftists completely out of show business? Partially out of show business? Is the culture like a cruise ship, something that can be guided to a safe port of call? Who’s the captain, then? Who’s qualified to lead? Maybe victory in the Culture War means something more modest: less progressive messaging in mass media. Perhaps it includes national television channels thinking twice about putting that drag queen child Desmond on the air. Or broadcasting wholesome entertainment the way they used to. A reboot of Emergency! or some such. Randolph Mantooth is still alive, after all.

If you’re going to call it a war, then you have to determine how to fight it, why you want to win, and what winning means.

Read the entire thing here.