The past four years have been described as the epitome of the culture wars.
The issues that make up our American culture wars include – but are not limited to – abortion, homosexuality, transgender rights, multi-culturalism, immigration, racial and gender treatment, and individual rights as relate to the common good.
Wearing masks to limit transmittal of COVID-19, vaccination –rather than just vaccines – free speech on social media and gun rights – as it relates to gun responsibilities – make up the bulk of the current individual rights culture war.
In a successful long-term democracy, these issues are resolved through legislative debate and majority rule. If enough people feel aggrieved, the courts resolve these issues through landmark decisions. Sometimes, this process which has served us well for nearly 250 years is short-circuited by executive orders which were originally designed to implement policies adopted by the democratic process of majority rule. Congress has delegated much of their power to the Executive Branch which may or may not handle this delegation with balance and equity.
The question to ask is whether or not the culture wars and their related culture warlords have had any impact on advancing democracy. This columnist recognizes that the tribal warlords in Washington – as egged on by the social media warriors – have achieved nothing in the past four years except to create great stress, a weak response to the co-crises of the pandemic and its economic impacts and the diminishment of our position as a world leader.
To bring this home to Graham County, the past four years of culture wars did little to change people’s minds. Donald Trump received 81 percent of the 4,166 votes in 2016. Hillary Clinton and a few others received 19 percent of the votes.
There were 4,798 votes cast during the 2020 election. The percentage of votes cast for Donald Trump was 79.5 percent, and the percentage of votes cast for Joe Biden and a few others was 20.5 percent.
The only conclusion we can reach is that the culture wars impact on Graham County voters was about zero.
So, the question becomes … what shall we do to stop slavish devotion to the warlords who do little, but stir us up for self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment? We need a new set of warlords whose cause is to re-unite us to a common set of values.
Compromise is not a four-letter word. Neither is communication. Listening means nothing without hearing.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be our leaders for the next four years. The vote count shows a plurality of nearly 5.5 million votes for the Biden/Harris ticket. The Electoral College vote count appears to be exactly what it was for the Trump Pence ticket in 2016. Here’s the reality: the courts are not buying the arguments that the election was stolen.
Let’s get a move on with the critical pandemic and economic problems and then start working on compromises to resolve the culture wars.
Roger Carlton is a columnist for The Graham Star. He is a council member for the Town of Lake Santeetlah.