Well into the Next Day

Okay, so maybe in the wee hours of the night/morning, I didn't give adequate consideration to the extent to which the nation continues its rightward swing. I just thought it wouldn't have been so close; look at the opposition candidate.

I think the sheer numbers are by far the most significant aspect. The proponents of slinking "progress" have pushed too hard for too much ground — and perhaps they've reached people's limits no matter the pace. They fight bans on infanticide (to the clear-minded); they seek to bypass the legislature through the judiciary; they believe it's censorship or religious oppression when people of faith speak out and act in their capacity as private citizens, but they call it "civil disobedience" to use the structures of the civil sphere to disobey the law.

Considering my emphasis on cultural matters, there's surely a tilt to my perception for which you should account. That said, however, I think the cultural fight undergirds even the central issue of this election: the War on Terror. America-haters don't hate the country because of fellow citizens who agree with them. More mildly, people who disagree with the President and conservatives on domestic issues were only too obvious in their efforts to find reasons to oppose him as a wartime leader.

The War on Terror will continue, now, but on a broader scale, we may at last be entering the Era of the Culture War. The liberal side isn't going to relinquish its command of societal strongholds just because doing so may dismantle educational, artistic, and informational structures. More than ever, it will be obvious from their point of view that the "system" is not working, because it is not working toward their goals. Already skeptical about their chances in the branches of government that are directly answerable to the people, should they develop any sense that they are losing the judiciary as well, they will feel disconnected from the entire civic sphere of the nation.

This election was one of many showdowns — amid those already fought and yet to come — but it was a supremely significant one. The liberal side risked all-important credibility among its legions in the media in order to make this election a full assault. Toe to toe. And it lost. Those vested in the relevant aspects of American society will surely attempt to regroup and continue their struggle, but they'll do so understanding that theirs are inherently defensive maneuvers.

Others will split from the legitimate opposition, some into radicalism, some into feigned cooperation. From the former, we can expect violence and vitriol until they've lost the ability even to spew those. But keep an eye on the latter, the liberal Republicans and libertarians, for they represent the future's opposition. Whether they commandeer the liberals' worn, but still well-placed, bastions or force schism on the Right, they represent the next stage in humanity's incremental spiral toward the essential choice of every man and woman's life.