Coloradomtnman
Rational and proud of it.
Culture, and therefore society, is always changing. One might say "progressing". Another might say "degenerating".
America of the past was made up of predominately white, protestant, cultural conservatives. One might envision the 1940s and 1950s as the Golden era of that culture. Nuclear families, good paying, secure employment with guaranteed pensions, traditional Christian values, and a national culture dominated by white culture (i.e. movies, music, and the arts).
It could be that the counter culture of the 1950s came of age in the 1960s in the anti-war, feminism, and social equality movements. Black people began to have more prominent roles in culture (think Sydney Poitier, Jimi Hendrix, Motown, Martin Luther King Jr., etc.), young people explored outside the bounds of the restrictive society of the past decades with drugs, sex, and different cultural experiences.
That mentality of the counter culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s became mainstream in American society. Movies became edgier, more violent, allowing nudity and vulgar language, and following darker themes. The same with music. Culture became less homogeneous.
Perhaps the biggest reason why this happened is the change in American demographics. With growing populations of racial minorities, mainstream culture was influenced by them and began to reflect and represent more their cultures. With women feeling empowered, they were able to affect policy and culture - instead of staying home, raising children and keeping house, they worked or simply left their traditional roles behind. Social equality enabled racial minorities to do break out of their traditional roles as well. Instead of black people working in menial jobs, they began to follow their ambitions into more influential and important social roles.
This has continued over the past 3 decades. Social change has continued in almost only one direction: less traditional. And culture has only increased in its rate of change. Each subsequent generation has less in common culturally with the generation prior.
America is becoming browner, more tolerant of those who are different because social equality is more important, more open, and less traditional.
Gay marriage is nearly settled issue. We have a black man as President. Hip hop music is widely appreciated. Non-traditional families are becoming more numerous. More and more women and minorities are achieving roles of great influence and importance. Information is more easily accessed, simply using a computer or even a smart phone.
And those on the far right: older, white, male and married female, protestant, social conservatives are dying and their movement is smaller, less inclusive, and increasingly irrelevant.
So there is a resentment as they perceive themselves to be losing their country. They see culture becoming decadent, society less wholesome and different or alien to them. They fear homosexuality becoming a social norm, even so far that homosexuals are getting married. Non-religious believers are a growing voice in culture, and the conservatives fear that amorality could become more prevalent based on their own morality. Having little to no exposure to racial minorities and homosexuals, the conservatives fear these more omnipresent subcultures which they don't understand. Young people with tattoos, strangely dyed hair, piercings, more revealing clothes, and less inhibited behavior threaten what is the conservatives' ideal society.
Here's the rub: its inevitable. You conservatives are being left behind and there is no way you can change that.
Good luck and God bless.
America of the past was made up of predominately white, protestant, cultural conservatives. One might envision the 1940s and 1950s as the Golden era of that culture. Nuclear families, good paying, secure employment with guaranteed pensions, traditional Christian values, and a national culture dominated by white culture (i.e. movies, music, and the arts).
It could be that the counter culture of the 1950s came of age in the 1960s in the anti-war, feminism, and social equality movements. Black people began to have more prominent roles in culture (think Sydney Poitier, Jimi Hendrix, Motown, Martin Luther King Jr., etc.), young people explored outside the bounds of the restrictive society of the past decades with drugs, sex, and different cultural experiences.
That mentality of the counter culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s became mainstream in American society. Movies became edgier, more violent, allowing nudity and vulgar language, and following darker themes. The same with music. Culture became less homogeneous.
Perhaps the biggest reason why this happened is the change in American demographics. With growing populations of racial minorities, mainstream culture was influenced by them and began to reflect and represent more their cultures. With women feeling empowered, they were able to affect policy and culture - instead of staying home, raising children and keeping house, they worked or simply left their traditional roles behind. Social equality enabled racial minorities to do break out of their traditional roles as well. Instead of black people working in menial jobs, they began to follow their ambitions into more influential and important social roles.
This has continued over the past 3 decades. Social change has continued in almost only one direction: less traditional. And culture has only increased in its rate of change. Each subsequent generation has less in common culturally with the generation prior.
America is becoming browner, more tolerant of those who are different because social equality is more important, more open, and less traditional.
Gay marriage is nearly settled issue. We have a black man as President. Hip hop music is widely appreciated. Non-traditional families are becoming more numerous. More and more women and minorities are achieving roles of great influence and importance. Information is more easily accessed, simply using a computer or even a smart phone.
And those on the far right: older, white, male and married female, protestant, social conservatives are dying and their movement is smaller, less inclusive, and increasingly irrelevant.
So there is a resentment as they perceive themselves to be losing their country. They see culture becoming decadent, society less wholesome and different or alien to them. They fear homosexuality becoming a social norm, even so far that homosexuals are getting married. Non-religious believers are a growing voice in culture, and the conservatives fear that amorality could become more prevalent based on their own morality. Having little to no exposure to racial minorities and homosexuals, the conservatives fear these more omnipresent subcultures which they don't understand. Young people with tattoos, strangely dyed hair, piercings, more revealing clothes, and less inhibited behavior threaten what is the conservatives' ideal society.
Here's the rub: its inevitable. You conservatives are being left behind and there is no way you can change that.
Good luck and God bless.
