In keeping with the old Chinese curse, “May you live in ‘interesting’ times,” this has certainly been an ‘interesting’ year. In fact, it has been in many respects a ‘perfect storm’ marked by an unprecedented degree of domestic chaos, dysfunction and disruption as manifest by…
- The COVID-19 epidemic that has caused (or more accurately, contributed to) the deaths of more than 220,000 Americans so far;
- Unprecedented government-imposed lockdowns, quarantines, and stifling restrictions on personal freedom mandated by many governors and mayors;
- The collapse of large segments of our nation’s economy as a result of COVID-related lockdowns, resulting in massive unemployment and thousands of bankrupt businesses across America;
- The shutdown of churches and synagogues as “nonessential” social institutions (oftentimes in contrast to “essential” businesses such as pot shops, tattoo parlors, strip clubs, gambling casinos, etc.);
- The shutdown of public schools and many private schools in favor of “virtual” learning;
- The suspension, cancellation, or curtailment of most amateur and professional sporting events;
- Racial conflicts, rioting, looting and horrifying violence in many cities perpetrated by criminal gangs, random thugs, anarchists and revolutionary neo-Marxist groups such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter;
- And finally… perhaps the most intense and crucial election in American history that evidently was corrupted by unprecedented levels of voter fraud, ballot-harvesting and other “irregularities” (or more correctly, illegalities).
The long-awaited (or long-dreaded) election of 2020 has come and gone. Due to evidence of substantial voting fraud that is undeniable but nonetheless difficult to adequately validate in the few weeks between the election on November 3rd and the convocation of the Electoral College on December 14th, dramatic changes are in store for this nation over the next four years. Joe Biden is a mental, moral and physical weakling who will serve dutifully as a pawn of the Left. Once in power, the socialist Democratic Party will push a radical and comprehensive agenda that will make the Obama administration seem relatively moderate by comparison. They will succeed primarily by issuing and applying executive orders and federal department mandates. But if they also win the two contested senatorial races in Georgia, they will fundamentally transform the American system of government in ways that will never be altered – everything from packing the U.S. Supreme Court and abolishing the Electoral College to offering citizenship to millions of illegal aliens. Through corruption of the voting system, they also will assure that no Republican will ever again be elected president.
A fundamental difference between the activists of the Democratic Party and most Christians and other conservatives is that the radical Left understands that a ferocious culture war is raging in America. Furthermore, they intend to win.
As I wrote in Chapter 1 of American Crisis, many people believe that America’s culture war began in the 1960s with the emergence of the sexual revolution, the New Left and the hippie counterculture. Others with a more extended view of history might take it back to the explosion of hedonism that characterized the “Roaring Twenties” or even the late 19th century with the rise of Darwinism and the secularization of American education. But in fact, the origin of America’s culture war predates all of that and extends back virtually to the very beginning, within a few years of the founding of Plymouth colony.
From the outset America was founded by colonists who came for one or more the following reasons: (1) religious liberty; (2) political freedom; (3) personal ambitions, including social and economic opportunities; (4) adventure; and/or (5) libertine hedonism. Most of these factors, of course, are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and most immigrants were probably motivated by a combination of components even if one was paramount.
In the case of the religious leaders who founded Plymouth colony in 1620, no sooner had these weary Separatists (or “Pilgrims”) endured the bleak ravages of their first few years in North America than they encountered another group of hearty English colonists who settled a few miles up the Massachusetts coast at Mount Wollaston (later renamed Merrymount). However, in contrast to the devout and sober Separatists, the Merrymounters had a different agenda. From the beginning America was beset by a culture war that represented two contrasting visions of what kind of society and culture New England should be. Some hoped to see New England become a model Christian society governed by Biblical principles of law and morality, while others saw it as a refuge from the religious and moral restraints of the old country. These two groups exemplified two distinct and incompatible worldviews, and the confrontation that ensued between these two communities of settlers was in effect the first skirmish in America’s ongoing (and rapidly accelerating) culture war.
A century-and-a-half later, the Founding Fathers sought an innovative compromise between the popular Enlightenment ideals of their day and traditional Biblical/Christian values. In the process they established republican-style representative government, maximized civil liberties, and disestablished the Christian religion while correspondingly acknowledging religious liberty and promoting the nation’s Christian heritage. While creating a national government that was religiously neutral, they had no intention of establishing a secular government that was hostile or even indifferent to the Christian faith.
For several generations the compromise more or less worked because the Christian religious heritage and values kept the more secular and libertarian Enlightenment ideals in check. But with the accelerated pace of change in the 20th century and the increased secularization of American society and culture, the fissure separating these two contrasting worldviews widened until it opened up into a major chasm in the 1960s. Today we see the affects of this rift in every aspect of American life, and it is a seminal reason why so many of our political, social, moral and even economic problems seem so intractable and unsolvable.
Two broad camps, representing irreconcilable worldviews, assess our problems and offer contrasting solutions. In a culture in which one side advocates values based on traditional Natural (moral) Law while the other promotes a relativistic and secular humanistic agenda, the areas of mutual agreement and commonality continue to shrink. As the author and radio talk show host Dennis has noted, “American will be united only when one [of these worldviews] prevails over the other.”
As we witness in awe the ever-widening chasm that has opened up in America’s ongoing culture war over the past fifty years – and especially in just the last decade – it is a sober reminder of the results and consequences of even seemingly subtle and minor deviations from the moral truths of Scripture. Fifty years ago most secularists were at least publicly and superficially respectful toward the Christian faith and values. Now, it’s a full-scale and unrelenting assault in the public square not only on Christianity per se but even the most basic principles of common decency and civility.
Setting aside the problematic personalities of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden (neither of whom are exemplary role-models), what really mattered in the 2020 election were their positions, priorities and policies regarding the great issues of our day. In that respect, the Republican and Democratic parties essentially have come to represent two contrasting and irreconcilable worldviews. That is what was really at stake in the election. Substantively, the 2020 election was not about personalities, parties, or even politics. It was an election to determine which worldview would prevail in America.
Many Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of a culture war. By temperament, I can relate to that feeling. But idealism doesn’t alter reality, and the truth is that a culture war exists whether we prefer to acknowledge it or not. America’s culture war is not an illusion, and those who refuse to acknowledge it are either spiritually and morally blind, egregiously apathetic, or too timid to engage it. We are losing the culture war, and we are losing it decisively – not because the Christian faith has nothing to offer to modern man, but because Christians have essentially forfeited the war to our opponents.
Turbulent times call for people of courage and conviction who understand the issues at stake and are willing to engage the fight. To restate the quote by Dennis Prager, “America will be united only when one [of these worldviews] prevails over the other.” Many cultural liberals seem to understand this, while many cultural conservatives – including many Christians – apparently do not.
Lastly, ponder the message in the famous British recruitment poster from World War I depicting a middle-aged father striking a pensive pose as his son plays on the floor with his toy soldiers while his young daughter sitting on his lap innocently asks, “Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?” It’s time that every Christian and every Christian church leader asks himself or herself the same question: “What did I do in the Great Culture War in the years leading up to the Election of 2020?”
