Election day 2012 showed once again that America is moving steadily to the left. Yes, Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney, but the underlying dynamics run much deeper than that – especially when you take a look at social issues. Older voters are more conservative when it comes to social issues, but they are slowly dying off and being replaced by younger voters that tend to be much more liberal. So on a whole host of controversial social issues including gay marriage, abortion, immigration and drug legalization we are seeing a dramatic shift take place. The American people as a whole are rejecting traditional values and are embracing a more “progressive” view of morality that is being promoted by our education system, the entertainment industry and the federal government. Those that want to cling to the morality of the past are being told that they “are on the wrong side of history” and that they need to come into the 21st century. On election night I spent a lot of time watching CNN, and even their “conservative pundits” were trashing those that still believe in traditional values. Sadly, it is likely that those that believe in traditional values are going to have a harder and harder time trying to win national elections. It is much easier to get people to change their minds about economic issues or foreign policy issues than it is about fundamental questions of right and wrong. The demographic tidal wave that is pushing America to the left is not going to stop, and it would literally take a miracle to see this country start to move back in the direction of traditional values.
Twenty or thirty years ago, someone like Barack Obama would not have had a prayer of getting elected. But now, he is considered to be “moderate” and someone like Mitt Romney is considered to be “conservative”. That is how far this country has shifted to the left. The mainstream media likes to talk about how this is a “center-right” nation, but that is just because the mainstream media is always more liberal than the rest of the country is. The mainstream media is always eager for the rest of the nation to “catch up” to where they are already at.
But the shift to the left is not just reflected in our presidential politics. In fact, on election day 2012 it was most clearly seen in the results of some of the ballot initiatives and referendums held across the country.
For example, prior to 2012 gay marriage had been voted down every single time when it had been put on the ballot in any state.
However, on election day 2012 gay marriage was made legal by the voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state. This represented a huge victory for gay marriage advocates.
We also saw the election of the first openly lesbian U.S. Senator up in Wisconsin. Adding her and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to the mix is going to push the U.S. Senate even farther to the left.
Down in Florida, voters decided to reject a proposal to prohibit the use of public funds for abortion. This is just another in a string of pro-life ballot initiatives that have been defeated in recent elections.
Meanwhile, those that are promoting the legalization of drugs have some stunning victories to celebrate. Both Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana. This would have never happened 20 years ago. But times have changed.
There has also been a dramatic shift when it comes to illegal immigration. CNN exit polls found that a solid majority of American voters want immigrants that are in this country illegally to be given a chance to stay and be given a legal path to citizenship. This is a huge change compared to what we saw even just five or ten years ago.
And this fundamental shift to the left will be felt in some of the highest institutions in the land. Quite a few Supreme Court justices are in their seventies, and it is quite likely that Barack Obama will get the opportunity to nominate several new justices to the court before the end of his next term.
That means that all of the conservative hopes for the Supreme Court are probably dead in the water at this point. It appears extremely unlikely that Roe v. Wade will ever be overturned, and the court is probably only going to get even more liberal from this point forward.
So what does all of this mean?
Well, it essentially means that the culture war is over and the social conservatives lost. Obviously I would consider this to be a bad thing, because I am someone who believes deeply in traditional values.
The American people have chosen a direction, and the path that they have chosen is the path of “progressive” morality. We are already seeing the consequences of this kind of morality play out all around us, and those consequences are only going to get worse.
But to stop the monumental cultural shift that is taking place right now in this country would take a miracle of epic proportions. Older voters that tend to be more socially conservative will continue to die off, and they will continue to be replaced by younger voters that tend to be more socially liberal.
The American people have made their choices, and those choices will continue to be reinforced by the education system, by the mainstream media, by the entertainment industry and by the federal government.
America has changed, and things will never be the same again.
So what do you think about all of this?
Do you believe that the culture war is over?
Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below…
