Why is it that performers at cultural events seem to think it is ok to make politicized comments, as Jay Nordlinger notes?
The indefatigable Mark Steyn takes a stab at it.
Liberalism is the default mode of the culture — to the point where the left-of-center position is so pervasive it’s no longer a position at all, but rather something uncontentious, received wisdom, part of the air we breathe.
Yes, he says, people from Hollywood sidle up to him and say “how much they agree with my book but please don’t mention it to anyone.” But so what?
The trouble is that there is no payoff from people sidling up to you. Crypto-conservatives are just that: hidden. When the culture is default center-left then you can expect most people to be default center-left.
If the non-political sphere is permanently left-of-center — the movies, the pop songs, the plays, the sitcoms, the newspapers plus the churches, schools and much else — it’s simply unreasonable to expect people to walk into a polling booth every other November and vote conservative. The culture is where the issues get framed and the boundaries set.
There’s a good argument to make that there is a pretty substantial rejectionist front out there, people who are disgusted with the cultural liberalism and determined to do something about it. Then there are those who are naturally conservative in their habits and who just do not like the rude, crude culture of Hollywood and liberal politics but just sit there and do nothing.
Right now the conservative orientation is a subculture and doesn’t look to be making much progress any time soon. If you are a kid in college, the default youth culture is the licentious liberal culture of the hookup and girls gone wild. If you are a women working in government the default culture is feminist multiculturalism that celebrates Halloween but mumbles about “holidays” during the Christmas season.
It won’t change until we do something about it.
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