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Why Conservatives Are Obsessed With Cultural Issues

Seems like more than ever conservatives are hyper focused on cultural debates and far less focused on economic issues. While I consider many cultural and societal issues to be important, they are often used as a distraction from our economic problems. I think a big reason why conservatives are so focused on culture is because they dont know where they stand on economics. Are they free market or protectionist? Pro big corporation or anti big corporation? They dont know. It seems like the American conservative movement is stuck in limbo and so they direct their ire towards non issues like Mr Potato Head or publication of Dr. Seuss books no one has ever read.
I would agree that they are, but for the exact same reason so many establishment/conservative Democrats are: to smokescreen for their corporatism and appalling stances on economic (in)justice, the latter of which is certainly a common denominator between all GOP takes on economics, whether corporatist or ostensibly libertarian; that the wealthy and powerful should essentially have their way and domineer, that American governance should be of the rich, by the rich and for the rich, and the state has at best a minimal role to play in remediating record inequalities.
 
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Seems like more than ever conservatives are hyper focused on cultural debates and far less focused on economic issues. While I consider many cultural and societal issues to be important, they are often used as a distraction from our economic problems. I think a big reason why conservatives are so focused on culture is because they dont know where they stand on economics. Are they free market or protectionist? Pro big corporation or anti big corporation? They dont know. It seems like the American conservative movement is stuck in limbo and so they direct their ire towards non issues like Mr Potato Head or publication of Dr. Seuss books no one has ever read.
As a conservative, I'd say you've gotten it all wrong. If anyone is obsessed with destroying American culture as it exists today it would be the so called Woke leftists. They are obsessed with destroying American history and America as it exists today, all in the name of their concept of equality. As a conservative, I don't care one bit about the cultural/social piñata's leftists constantly toss in the air to beat up and knock down. But then, Woke leftists are only interested in those cultural/social issues as they relate to dividing the electorate into slices they can hopefully manipulate into voting blocks. Once in power, they couldn't give a rat's ass about those "causes". Just ask the average black Democrat.
 
Oh look, another blatant lie from you. Imperial Germany, for instance, certainly wasn’t “left wing”.
Imperial Germany never carried out any genocide either
 
Yes.... it did.


I get that you don’t know history, but at least try to do some research before you shoot off your mouth and humiliate yourself.
It was not a genocide. There is no evidence indicating the purpose was the entire extermination of a people. A non indigenous ethnic group attempt a nasty revolt against German Authorities and German authorities responded by expelling them from the area.
 
As a conservative, I'd say you've gotten it all wrong. If anyone is obsessed with destroying American culture as it exists today it would be the so called Woke leftists. They are obsessed with destroying American history and America as it exists today, all in the name of their concept of equality. As a conservative, I don't care one bit about the cultural/social piñata's leftists constantly toss in the air to beat up and knock down. But then, Woke leftists are only interested in those cultural/social issues as they relate to dividing the electorate into slices they can hopefully manipulate into voting blocks. Once in power, they couldn't give a rat's ass about those "causes". Just ask the average black Democrat.

Could you give a specific example of this?
 
Because there is little disagreement on larger political issues, the nuts and bolts of governing, emotional appeals are required to bifurcate the citizenship. The so-called Culture War gives us something to fight over since a super majority of the nation agrees on everything else.
 
It was not a genocide. There is no evidence indicating the purpose was the entire extermination of a people. A non indigenous ethnic group attempt a nasty revolt against German Authorities and German authorities responded by expelling them from the area.

I'm skeptical

"Between 1904-1907, German military forces, called Schutztruppe, committed a genocide against indigenous people in their colony of German Southwest Africa (present-day Namibia; hereafter, GSWA). The intent of these killings—which occurred through battle; through starvation and thirst in the Omaheke Desert; and through forced labor, malnutrition, sexual violence, medical experiments and disease in concentration camps—was to rid the colony of people viewed as expendable and thus gain access to their land."

  • Baer, Elizabeth. The Genocidal Gaze: From German Southwest Africa to the Third Reich. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2017; University of Namibia Press, 2018. (PN 3503 .B24 2017) [Find in a library near you]
    Explores the threads of shared ideology in the Herero and Nama genocide and the Nazi Holocaust: concepts such as racial hierarchies, lebensraum (living space), rassenschande (racial shame), and endlösung (final solution). Also notes the use of shared methodologies--concentration camps, death camps, intentional starvation, rape, indiscriminate killing of women and children. The first book to examine literary texts and an art installation that demonstrate the “continuity thesis.”"

 
It was not a genocide. There is no evidence indicating the purpose was the entire extermination of a people. A non indigenous ethnic group attempt a nasty revolt against German Authorities and German authorities responded by expelling them from the area.

It absolutely was a genocide. The officer in charge flat out stated that’s what he was doing.

From previous source

“General Trotha stated his proposed solution to end the resistance of the Herero people in a letter, before the Battle of Waterberg:[65]:11

“I believe that the nation as such should be annihilated, or, if this was not possible by tactical measures, have to be expelled from the country. This will be possible if the water-holes from Grootfontein to Gobabis are occupied. The constant movement of our troops will enable us to find the small groups of this nation who have moved backwards and destroy them gradually.”

Also...

“Trotha gave orders that captured Herero males were to be executed, while women and children were to be driven into the desert where their death from starvation and thirst was to be certain; Trotha argued that there was no need to make exceptions for Herero women and children, since these would "infect German troops with their diseases", the insurrection Trotha explained "is and remains the beginning of a racial struggle".[52]:605”

The local people revolted because they had been horrifically abused by the German settlers over and over and over again. One of the main reasons for the uprisings was the acquittal of a German settler for murdering a prominent Herero woman when she fought off his attempts to rape her(and the outrage from the settlers when one of the administrators who actually had a brain overrode that acquittal).

So yes, it absolutely was a genocide.
 
I'm skeptical

"Between 1904-1907, German military forces, called Schutztruppe, committed a genocide against indigenous people in their colony of German Southwest Africa (present-day Namibia; hereafter, GSWA). The intent of these killings—which occurred through battle; through starvation and thirst in the Omaheke Desert; and through forced labor, malnutrition, sexual violence, medical experiments and disease in concentration camps—was to rid the colony of people viewed as expendable and thus gain access to their land."

  • Baer, Elizabeth. The Genocidal Gaze: From German Southwest Africa to the Third Reich. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2017; University of Namibia Press, 2018. (PN 3503 .B24 2017) [Find in a library near you]
    Explores the threads of shared ideology in the Herero and Nama genocide and the Nazi Holocaust: concepts such as racial hierarchies, lebensraum (living space), rassenschande (racial shame), and endlösung (final solution). Also notes the use of shared methodologies--concentration camps, death camps, intentional starvation, rape, indiscriminate killing of women and children. The first book to examine literary texts and an art installation that demonstrate the “continuity thesis.”"

It was brutal, but genocide is not the same thing as very brutal
 
Eh. Conservatism's principles remain. Many Republicans turned out to be spineless in their defense when weighed against tribalism, but, that's a very human failing.
I call it cowardice, which is a human failing so we basically agree.
 
As a conservative, I'd say you've gotten it all wrong. If anyone is obsessed with destroying American culture as it exists today it would be the so called Woke leftists. They are obsessed with destroying American history and America as it exists today, all in the name of their concept of equality.

In what way does the left seek to 'destroy' American history?
As a conservative, I don't care one bit about the cultural/social piñata's leftists constantly toss in the air to beat up and knock down. But then, Woke leftists are only interested in those cultural/social issues as they relate to dividing the electorate into slices they can hopefully manipulate into voting blocks. Once in power, they couldn't give a rat's ass about those "causes". Just ask the average black Democrat.

It's the conservatives M.O. to divide and conquer. They pit minorities against each other. They fearmonger to get blue collar white workers to hate minority immigrants and blame them for stagnating wages, rather than their own capitalist policies or the corporations who want to ship jobs overseas.
 
interesting and i actually agree but for different reasons

first of all, the left is obsessed with culture more

Ask any typical leftist what issues they are most concerned about. I guarantee you most are going to respond with: Health care, environment, unionization, and wages. Very very few are going to say they care most about the myriad of cultural issues reactionary conservatives are crying over.

Second, it is a GOOD thing that we stopped talking about taxes

we are now talking about the social issues but the wrong issues, i dont CARE about womens sports, i care that our country is literally dying

Yet another silly hyperbolic response. What social issue is making our country 'literally die?'
 
Lol, the left never focuses on cultural issues like murdering babies

I never said the left never cares about cultural/societal issues. They are just FAR more focused on economic issues, especially compared to right-wingers who don't know what they believe.

and sodomy.

GTFO with your homophobia.
 
I never said the left never cares about cultural/societal issues. They are just FAR more focused on economic issues, especially compared to right-wingers who don't know what they believe.



GTFO with your homophobia.
No they’re not. I don’t think any left wing active us or policymakers have any real knowledge of economic issues. And to the extent they do push economic issues, it’s always because of a cultural problem. We need some new fangled welfare program because racism or something.
 
Because its the only set of issues that they can win on. Generally the public is against them when it comes to economic issues.

They cannot win on opposing LGBT rights, abortion, or any of the five First Amendment rights. Economic issues are all they have to win on. All they have is the economy. So what they are doing is deflecting from the big questions only Democrats can and want to answer.
 
No they’re not. I don’t think any left wing active us or policymakers have any real knowledge of economic issues. And to the extent they do push economic issues, it’s always because of a cultural problem. We need some new fangled welfare program because racism or something.
To be fair, economics isn't really the strong suit for either political party, but give an edge to the Republicans on that, but not much of one.
 
No they’re not. I don’t think any left wing active us or policymakers have any real knowledge of economic issues.

Not surprised you think this.

And to the extent they do push economic issues, it’s always because of a cultural problem. We need some new fangled welfare program because racism or something.

Racism has definitely impacted certain communities economically. Any denial of this is a denial of reality. However, as you seem to hint, discussion of cultural issues on the left are usually in relation to economic problems. When the right talk about cultural issues it's always under the theme of: 'they're destroying our culture/history!!!'
 
They cannot win on opposing LGBT rights, abortion, or any of the five First Amendment rights. Economic issues are all they have to win on. All they have is the economy. So what they are doing is deflecting from the big questions only Democrats can and want to answer.
Nobody is saying that they are realistic in their pursuits.
 
Seems like more than ever conservatives are hyper focused on cultural debates and far less focused on economic issues. While I consider many cultural and societal issues to be important, they are often used as a distraction from our economic problems. I think a big reason why conservatives are so focused on culture is because they dont know where they stand on economics. Are they free market or protectionist? Pro big corporation or anti big corporation? They dont know. It seems like the American conservative movement is stuck in limbo and so they direct their ire towards non issues like Mr Potato Head or publication of Dr. Seuss books no one has ever read.

Asking why we conservatives are obsessed with cultural issues is akin to asking why socialists are so obsessed with economic redistribution, or why environmentalists are so obsessed with green energy and pollution. It is baked into our ideology. Broadly speaking, conservatism aims at preserving those cultural symbols and institutions which we believe gives this society its unique character and ultimately benefits everyone living within it. For example, you and I truly cannot enjoy First Amendment protections unless there is widespread cultural agreement among a majority of people that the state should not be allowed to engage in censorship or prior restraint. However, if that cultural understanding and agreement is lost, we will eventually will lose the protections of the First Amendment as it becomes a dead letter. And certainly, you can have pro-military interventionist conservatives (derisively and falsely labeled as “neocons”) and isolationist conservatives. You can have pro-free market economic and protectionist/anti-monopoly conservatives. But you really cannot have a disestablishmentarian conservative.
 
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Asking why we conservatives are obsessed with cultural issues is akin to asking why socialists are so obsessed with economic redistribution, or why environmentalists are so obsessed with green energy and pollution. It is baked into our ideology. Broadly speaking, conservatism aims at preserving those cultural symbols and institutions which we believe gives this society its unique character and ultimately benefits everyone living within it.

And this is why I have trouble taking conservatism seriously as an ideology. I can understand being concerned about 'reckless spending' (at least when consistent) and I can understand cutting bureaucratic red tape. I may not agree with all of their economic positions, but I can UNDERSTAND and sometimes sympathize. But I absolutely cannot understand how one can foam at the mouth over statues, trans sports, and children's books and toys to where, just on DP alone, there are dozens of new threads a days made by conservatives. I just cannot see how a rational person can see 'preserving' certain traditions and norms are anywhere as important as dealing with economic inequality or environmental destruction. Seems to me these are just distraction issues.
 
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