Submitted to a Candid World

Among other things, the failure of Democratic & progressive politicians in recent years to command a majority of Americans may be due to a serious overreach of the previous generations. Modern Americans owe many of our most treasured political victories to earlier generations of liberals, who secured victories including equal rights for women, equal rights for all races, the near-end of subjective morality as a guide for federal legislation, and more. But it’s possible that we went too far, and now we’re paying for the consequences. Whatever the cause, the thesis of Hannah Rosin’s fascinating book (pictured to the left) is that America is about to face – or, is facing – a backlash from zealous, committed, and politically active fundamentalist Christian culture warriors. This, in itself, isn’t shocking, but her in-depth study of this influential & growing subculture is fascinating.

More important than her description of the subculture, though, is the lesson that we as progressives ought to draw from the book. While fundamentalist Christian children are training for the next political fight, going into politics or seeking out politically influential legal careers, they’re being met by a dearth of progressive political resistance, a fractured Democratic party, and in general, a new generation of progressives who take our past victories for granted, ignoring that their ideals may soon be under greater attack than ever.

Read the book. Understand the new face of Christian culture warriors, be alarmed, and resolve to fight back. Given the failures of the Bush years, it’s our turn to shine again, if we’re willing to seize it. We can’t afford to let American values like rationalism, equal justice, and social progress slip away any further.