My side lost the great culture war.
Who is it exactly who lost, though? At one time, I would have been myopic enough to say it was the Christian church that lost the battle, but I now see it as much broader. The people on my side — at least in the broadest sense — could come from various religions or no real religion at all. They might be humanists or New Agers or label themselves in other ways.
The only thing that unites all of these people — many of whom are barely on speaking terms — is that we believe life has meaning. We believe the culture ought to reflect positive values and provide an alternative to nihilism, even if many among that group would strongly disagree about what values they would like culture to reflect.
Modern popular culture reflects nihilism and death. It broadly presents the idea that life has no meaning — and that the only rational response to the world is to engage in the most selfish and cynical pursuit of pleasure that’s possible. The culture sends the message, “Life has no purpose; get over it.” And if you have children, this message is going to be pushed on them over and over by popular culture.
Getting better at all I do is only way to fight ‘imposter syndrome’
I’m losing need to explain myself to those who misunderstand me
Great men who change the world rarely look impressive from start
Patterns that made old mistakes keep us making same old errors
Reality no longer seems to matter to dysfunctional culture in denial
Loss of majestic tree in my yard feels like death of an old friend
If you want a president to ‘run the country,’ you’re missing the point
What dark magic will it take to get Obama re-elected? Merlin knows
Reaction to Penn State scandal shows danger of putting leaders on pedestal