I1 wonder the right perspective to the culture war question.
I can see the reason one might stay out of the fight entirely: focus on building something beautiful, ignore the noise, don’t let it sully you.
I can see the reason one might engage: it is coming for you. The force is insidious and if we don’t speak out now we let it steamroll us. We need to take a public stand to inspire others to resist.
Like most things, I think the correct answer is context dependent. But I’d also suggest that there is something philosophically lying underneath these questions: do you engage in battle or do you retreat to build anew?
Engaging in battle is tiresome, and can suck energy that could be used in creation. You must not only learn the outlines of the war, you must find and hone the tools to fight it. Being drawn into the depths of the war allows you little time for much else.
Taking part in a culture war can also warp you. It can make you into a caricature of yourself. Trying to take the opposite point of your opponents can often flatten your nuance.
I also think learning about all the degenerate ideologies that arise in the chaos of collapsing institutions can be psychologically unhealthy. I don’t want to know their terms. I don’t want to know their vision. Sometimes it’s best to remain ignorant and innocent.
If you spend your time primarily in the act of creation, you get to engage in the nuanced questions that arise from such a project. You get to innovate and put your mind in the realm of the hopeful. Everything feels like upside. A virtuous cycle.
On the other hand, you cannot ignore the war if it is coming for you. You cannot allow things to happen to your family, friends and community you disagree with. You cannot sit idly by when people are hurt. You cannot sit in silence at forces you see unfolding that scare or disturb you. If you are too silent, if too many of us are too silent, the tide can shift rather quickly, and those in the fight won’t know who their allies might be.
There is a nuanced distinction to be made between being fully “in” the culture war and “out” of it. I personally think there are a multitude of ways to be “in,” to do your part to stem the tide and resist the forces. I also think it’s worth saying out loud that certain ways of being “in” the culture war have consequences.
I don’t begrudge anyone their political choices. If engaging in the culture war brings negative consequences with one’s own family and children, the exact people you intend to protect, then this is something to consider. When I talk to people who engage in dangerous political protest, I often encourage them to think about the risk they are taking to their bodies and lives, and whether or not it is worth it to them.
I also personally think there are crafty, illegible and experimental ways to fight against the social forces you disagree with. Not everything has to be public, although I applaud those with the bravery to be public, as we need some people like that.
To come full circle, I often argue that one of the ways to fight the culture war is to focus primarily on the act of creation. To develop a robust and attractive alternative. To live in the light, and to show others the path into it. This is my main contribution, but I won’t publicly say all the ways in which I fight in more illegible ways, an approach I’ve adopted to protect my family and livelihood.
But I don’t judge anyone’s specific approach to the war. It’s not going away anytime soon, and as a pluralist I know we need all types. One thing I won’t say is that one approach is better or worse. We all have our thoughts and reasons, and I won’t alienate friends and allies by suggesting they approach the world one way.
I want to be clear this post was written by Ashley Colby, not another Doomer Optimist, because I know we have differing views on this.
hey,
Chickens when confronted with a traumatic physical event, forget the pecking order and collaborate more than fight. Energy in animals is preserved at all cost, fighting is energy intensive, large animals mostly run away, to conserve their energy, avoiding trauma and violence.
We, however, still remain the most violent species on the planet and put energy in to vindication more, and collaborations to compete, we could even out compete climate problems by working collaboratively for the health of the planet and not the health of the carbon/oil banking system.