Thirty years ago a young sociologist - James Davison Hunter - wrote a book about what he called Culture Wars. An interviewer for Politico contacted Hunter and takes him through how his notions have played out over the ensuing three decades. It is excellent stuff, I recommend it. A key quote:
The very idea of treating your opponents with civility is a betrayal. How can you be civil to people who threaten your very existence? It highlights the point that culture is hegemonic: You can compromise with politics and policy, but if politics and policy are a proxy for culture, there’s just no way.
Those unwilling to compromise find democratic institutions too painful to tolerate long-term. That fact suggests a gloomy prognosis for our model of elected government, if not necessarily for our nation state.
Understanding the difficulty, Ben Franklin mused that our founders had created "A republic, if you can keep it." It is worth noting that Rome eventually lost its republic but continued as a world power for centuries. One wonders if backstage, an American caesar awaits his cue.
