Politics is Passé

Politics is scary. From Game of Thrones to House of Cards, contemporary culture is saturated with enough realpolitik to make Henry Kissinger the patron saint of our age. Indeed, this is nothing new. Shakespeare’s Henry IV is more than happy to put practical concerns before the reign of the (not so) good King Richard. It’s scary; but that’s also why most of us should have nothing to do with it. Most of us, whether we realize it or not, are much more interested in culture than cold-blooded political calculations.

On the one hand, some liberals are interested in a culture of tolerance and equality. They have sought the legal codification of these principles through a political system, but all the Adam and Steve weddings in the Village won’t change cultural mindsets. Similarly, some conservatives wish for more active communities rooted in face-to-face interaction and less ideological dribble drabble. That is, less “non-conforming your body, my choice” protest this and more “let’s have some beers and discuss how great it is owning our own businesses and paying our entirely local staff just wages” that. These conservatives have also sought the codification of their beliefs in things like anti-abortion statutes. But again for all that work, abortion carries on.

What matters are the mindsets behind these beliefs. For example, medieval people weren’t necessarily bigoted and illiberal, they just largely agreed about the essentials. God was real, cabbage actually tasted good, and fluid in the liver made you horny. It was like a big post-war consensus except with more colorful tights and fewer bow-ties. The issue, then, is not “what can my government do (or not do) for me,” but “what do I believe and why.” Culture needs be the byword for the American discussion. Politics are efficacious, but most people are not concerned with politics, they’re concerned with why their 14 year old is having sex with a guy, whose band is “totally going to make it big soon, baby.”

We need a cultural discussion asking questions like: “am I working too much to the detriment of my children,” “does my attitude toward sex lead me to devalue other human beings,” and “was $500 and an Indonesian boy’s soul too much to pay for this purse?” It seems to me that we’ve reversed positions with our medieval forebears. They had those basic questions answered but had little opinion on their exact political trappings. We’ve traded those answers for overblown discussions about the size of government and other trivial matters of government. And frankly, I’d rather raise a happy child in a thriving community than discuss which millionaire ought to be running the show. Put the basic pieces in place and before you know it, we might just be able to agree on the essential ends of society.