Scenes from the Culture War by Steven Hayward Current public opinion polling data is raising eyebrows in political circles, suggesting that the next phase of political debate, culminating in the presidential election next year, is going to be more bitter and nasty than usual. It is virtually unprecedented for a majority of the public to think the nation is on the wrong track when the economy is booming as it is now. Pollsters say the public is deeply disturbed about the moral and cultural condition of the nation. The Columbine school shooting provided an acute focus for this concern.
Columbine promises to stick uneasily in our memory for a long time.
The cultural split that has appeared in the aftermath of Columbine has been a subject of widespread comment. Liberals have pressed for stronger gun control laws. Even if such laws only make a marginal difference, liberals argue with a tiny amount of plausibility, a marginal difference translates into a few saved lives. Conservatives zeroed in on the entertainment industry's fascination with depictions of extreme violence, plausibly pointing out that it makes no sense to ban Joe Camel and similar tobacco-related imagery because of their purported bad influence on children while saying warning labels on video games and movies are ineffective. It is certainly true that one important function of national debates is to see which party best expresses and shapes the moral sentiments of the people.