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.