The Swing of the Pendulum Has Reached an Apex

The culture of the 60’s significantly changed American culture, but it failed to produce an heir and after a short fling has been decaying.  Pop culture has transformed into a sensationalist, attention gathering device totally without any philosophy, other than ‘what can we do today that is more sensationalistic than what we did yesterday’.  One only has to see Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, or Kim Kardashian to see that this is true.  The Hollywood elite, like Sean Penn, have moved so far to the left that America no longer understands or relates to them, they have become a joke, and totally irrelevant to the culture.  The presidency of Barack Obama is the last desperate gasp of this elitist struggle to take over the culture.  Forcing legislation through that is so leftist it receives little general support. 

This cultural shift has finally reached an apex and is shifting back slowly in the other direction.  What was the turning point?  Sarah Palin, love her or hate her, she might not have been the cause but was definitely the beginning of the cascade.  In music there is a definite rise in the popularity of country music.  A comparison of the major award shows makes it easy to understand why this is going on:  The MTV music awards is laced with profanity and sensationalism.  The 60’s transformation started out with some great talents, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, etc., but has turned into this hideous rap music that is as appealing as fingernails on a chalk board.  In contrast, the CMA awards are very family oriented, winners thank God, their families, etc., sing about their country and patriotism. 

Political correctness’ has also been taken to the extreme.   It is almost impossible to put the words Muslim and terrorist together in the same sentence, even though we all know that the terrorists are all Islamic and muslims living in America have a greater sense of pride more than ever.

The conservative swing was bound to happen, and things will shift in that direction until another 60’s generation is produced.   The last came about due to the Baby Boom years following WWII, so for the forseeable future nothing so cataclysmic is likely to occur, but a swing back toward the subdued culture of the 50’s is certainly likely.

The interesting thing is, the left has also seen this.  Barack Obama is their last gasp of hope and with him they will attempt to force through all of the statist legislation they have been hoping for.

Obamacare, whether or not one supports socialized medicine could not be passed by both houses of Congress and was forced through by some slick maneuvering by Nancy Pelosi.  Obama’s ‘mandate’ could not have taken place without several of his constituents voting multiple times and enlisting indigent and mentally impaired individuals to also vote.  Forcing through higher taxes and a populist agenda now seems to be his goal for the next four years.

Conservatives know this too and instead of holding firm waiting for the shift to occur, we are flailing our arms in desperation.  John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are ill equipped to deal with the political machinations of the Obama machine and instead of delivering a meaningful alternative have been dithering and caving in with a 'statist lite' approach.

 

Other conservatives have been running around predicting the end of the world; the nationalization of 401(k) savings accounts; the dismantling of the military, and; an end to the charitable deducton for not for profits.  Surely, if conservatives would hold firm and get a grip, they could weather the Obama storm without much ado except reams of regulations that could be undone.  I too, felt as if this was the end of the world, but there will be a silver lining.