America’s Present-Day Civil War
Introduction: The Foundation of the “Culture Wars”
In America’s Civil War, our nation’s own fought against one another. Despite the Civil War only lasting a few years, there were years upon years of debate over controversial social issues, most notably the topic of slavery, that preceded it. Nonetheless, these opposing sides have been reinvented in present day society in what is known as the “culture wars.” “The Culture War is a clash of ideas about what one believes to be true, and others with different viewpoints” (The Cultural War). In each political election held, one is given the impression that it is almost as if it is a duel between the liberals of the left and the conservatives of the right, with each side desiring differing and contravening approaches to the treatment of the United States. This “war for the soul of America” seems as if it will not end anytime soon, leaving both sides empty handed from implementing their beliefs and practices into society. For example, homosexuality has been immensely disputed between liberals and conservatives. Due to the two spectrums being nowhere in relation to each other, a victor cannot be determined, and unless the liberals and conservatives can shape their agendas to appease their opponent, there never will be. Culture wars divided American society not only over the issue of homosexuality, but also feminism, gun control, separation of church and state, and abortion. These debates reinvented
The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.
Abortion, school prayer, gay rights, gun politics and many more are all a part of the list of controversies that divide our country. A culture war is a conflict between groups with different ideals, beliefs, and issues. James Davison Hunter’s book, Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America, shows that these issues “are not isolated from one another but are part of a fabric of conflict which constitutes nothing short of a struggle over the meaning of America. Unlike the religious and cultural conflict that historically divided the nation, the contemporary culture war is fought along new and, in many ways, unfamiliar lines” (Hunter). Hunter argued that two definable polarities existed in the major issues of the war. The new shift in
The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are -- perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."
In a problem filled world that seems to be spiraling out of control, America cannot stand to be divided as black and white or liberal and conservative any longer if we want to succeed. The moderate ideology will provide the compromise this country needs. Three issues that are at the height of controversy include the LGBTQ community, abortion, and foreign aid. On June 6, 2015, same sex marriage was legalized by the federal government. This engendered the huge recognition of the LGBTQ community as it was thrust into the spotlight. 4% of the adult population identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual in addition to the 700,000 transgender individuals. Currently, the North Carolina law that restricts people to a public bathroom based off their gender at birth, is still in dispute. Liberals believe that it is the government's
In their book, Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America, political scientists Morris Fiorina, Samuel Abrams, and Jeremy Pope promote the idea that political polarization in the United States is an exaggerated perception. They provide ample evidence to contradict the notion that the attitudes of US citizens have become more sharply divided. However, arguing against polarization, the authors create a paradox within their own work by focusing on abortion, homosexuality, and religion. Despite this, their detailed analysis of voter surveys and political trends dismantled my assumptions of a nation divided along cultural lines. While
The American Civil War In 1860, arguably the world's greatest nation was locked in Civil War. The war divided the country between the North (Union) and South (Confederate). The war lasted five years and by 1865 the Confederate forces were truly beaten. Out of this horrendous war though, where some 600,000 men died grew a greater sense of nationalism than is today, unrivalled around the world.
Unlike Liz, Morris sees the nation as being divided into two voting blocs with a few swing states. His counters the cultural war” with evidence that shows everything about this wars is false and made up. “The culture war metaphor refers to a displacement of the classic economic conflicts that animated twentieth-century politics in the advanced democracies by newly emergent moral and cultural ones” (Morris). This with the mix of news agencies who created a sense of cultural war on television changed the way people looked at each party, but unreality this war didn’t exists. According to Morris journalist like David Border wrote “The divide went deeper than politics” Morris points to databases as one form of evidence. The works found in these databases show overemphasis and are mostly made up by journalists and politicos. These activists that advocate or believe that there is a cultural war are mistaken and are not largely supported by many Americans. Eighty to Ninety percent of people are actually moderates and don’t have extreme ideologically beliefs. They instead show tolerance and middle grounded view of politics. For example the when Republicans found out that large number of their supporters are tolerant of homosexuality, they were
America’s people were seemingly divided into many different ways- the most obvious of them would be the liberals, or “New Left”(the phrase coined by C. Wright Mills (1916–62) in Letter to the New Left) versus the older conservatives, or “Silent Majority”(coined by President Richard Nixon in his November 3, 1969 speech), the former arguing for peace, love, and rebellion against conformity and institutions, while the latter arguing for logic, tradition, and security. By June of 1969, many people of the New Left were accustomed to rebellion against the Silent Majority, with each minority accepting their own time slot- their own moment in time to make history and to voice their opinions which were subdued for so long. The members of the LGBT community were no anomaly to this concept.
Today in America there is a vast culture war occurring, with each side aligned based on feeling and deeply held personal belief. This is seen with the case of the Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission. On one side, a devout and neighborly Christian baker; on the other, an energetic and excited gay couple. In the culturally divided United States of today, the argument dissolves into gay civil rights v religion. Tribes emerge, arguing you are either suppressing
The war with the most death of Americans was not the World Wars, Cold War, Vietnam War or Korean War, but the Civil War. The Civil War is one of the most monumental moments in the United States that threaten the stability of the Union. The United States was split into two opposing sides, the Union and the Confederates, with opposing ideas; Americans pinned against one another in combat for their ideals and goals. The Civil War has multiple causes, but the most renowned reason was the abolishment of slavery. With the conclusion of the Civil War and the defeat of the Confederates, many efforts were made to establish the freedom of the slaves, such as the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution, and the status of freedman. However, with the discontent that was harbored in the former Confederates, “white southerners [tried to] reestablished civil authority in the former Confederate states in 1865 and 1866”; this thus led to the creation of the Black Codes ("Black Codes." History.com). The white southerners tried to regain control over freed slaves, acquire cheap labor and establish white supremacy through the Black Codes. The Black Code was mocking the efforts of the civil war since it recognized and limited the rights established in the civil war for the freed slaves, and recreated the slave like working environment before the civil war.
In 1861, the American Civil War commenced after many years of tension building between the Northern and Southern states. The main reason of the tension was said to be the debate of slavery between the North and South, and although some documents support this claim, it is false. The war had been brewing since 1607, before slavery was even introduced to the colonies that would become the United States of America. The debate of slavery did play a major part in the civil war; however it did so in supporting the true cause of the civil war. The main cause of the American Civil War was not the debate of slavery, but rather Europe’s role in the American economy.
A major victory was won by the LGBT community when the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal on June 26th of 2015 across all of the United States. This ruling effectively states that any state-law restricting marriage to male-female is unconstitutional. This had been a fight since the 1970s when the issues of same-sex marriage first began to gain steam. Over the years, various states have legalised same-sex marriage to certain degrees, however it wasn’t until after 3 decades that the issue was finally acknowledged on a national level. This change furthers the ideology of freedom and equality of the american constitution and will invoke the betterment of
In the Civil War the North had many advantages over the South. The South was outnumbered, out supplied, and pushed into a corner using military tactics. Many things changed because of the Civil War. The military tactics used by the North changed how war was fought from then on. Many changes were made politically; some were only temporary, while others were permanent. After the war was over, the country was reunited and the image of the soul and duty of our country redefined.
Two topics that are reoccurring in the U.S. as well as throughout the world is immigration and gay rights. Today, many immigration and gay rights issues have arisen in numerous cases and have had controversial sides and opinions
There seem to be Specific time in history where certain issues define the culture tension in a society. They become representative of large worldview and clearly emphasize the battle between divergent moral and spiritual perspectives. Homosexual marriage in the United States is one of these issues.