When Cultures Shift

by David Brooks

April 17, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/opinion/david-brooks-when-cultures-shift.html?ref=opinion

I agree with Mr. Brooks' assessment - a rare occurrence in and of itself; actually much more frequent when he writes his "philosophical" pieces than with his political commentary.

However, I believe this genie is going to be difficult to get back into the bottle. Kennedy's "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" was probably the last gasp of the "old" rules.

Conservatives like to blame the liberals for this turn of priorities, and in some social areas, like sexual mores, feminism, acceptance of other "lifestyles", that is probably correct. But in the areas of business ("greed is good", economic libertarianism) and government (Reaganism - government is the problem), conservatives have taken the lead.

Not sure which side to "blame" for the Kardashian or Paris Hilton media phenomenon, where huge careers are made with literally nothing but a "look at MEEE" attitude.

And not unexpectedly, Conservative are trying to roll back this trend on the social front with their continued (self-serving) emphasis on "church" and "family values" - as if hating gays and outlawing abortion had anything to do with either.

Liberals, on the other hand, are trying to contain the runaway belief in "me", "the rugged individual" on the economic and political front be reasserting the value of communal, social action at the government level through legislation like the ACA.

Given our current political disfunction, the twain shall never meet.

Making Religion the Problem

by Russ Douthat

APRIL 2, 2015 11:11 AM

http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/02/making-religion-the-problem/?comments&_r=0


So the essence of Douthat's answer to "the question of what, if anything, conservatives actually think we should do about the problem if it is primarily a cultural one" is:
"One possibility, the one I favor ..., is basically to allow a fairly wide latitude for these religious subcultures, with legal protections and a general tolerance that makes it relatively easy for the observant and traditionalist not only to worship and find fellowship but also to run businesses, schools, colleges, hospitals, etc. in accordance with their beliefs."

The rub is in the last part - the fact that social conservatives want the ability not only to freely "freely worship and find fellowship" (which is guaranteed as a cornerstone of the Constitution), but also to IMPOSE their beliefs on others by, for example, not serving a gay couple in their business or other activities. With other words, Douthat is arguing FOR the current law in Indiana, which implicitly (and in the interpretation of some of that bills sponsors, explicitly) would allow businesses to discriminate for the sake of their "religious beliefs". That is unacceptable. Remember, not so long ago discrimination against a blacks was justifies by many churches (in South Africa of old, by the Dutch Reformed Church - we called it the Much Deformed Church) because supposedly their "faith" demanded it.