Here is my latest from the American News:
Conservatives querulously note the domination by the political left of cultural institutions such as the academy, the national news media and the entertainment world. Conservatives take perverse pleasure from the conspiratorial notion that a left-wing cabal plots to exclude political dissent from the establishment culture.
But it is more the modern nature of these institutions that produces the left-leaning dominance. Each of these cultural pillars, generally speaking, sees as its goal the progressive transformation of society, thus causing institutional biases in favor of big government and against traditional lifestyles.
It was once considered the task of universities to pass on to each generation the inherited culture. The classic liberal arts education was meant to instruct in the history, literature, philosophy and other foundations of the culture. This was essentially a conservative task, namely conservation of a civilization.
But contemporary universities are interested in creating new knowledge, not passing on old knowledge. Our biggest and most influential universities are called “research institutions.” At these universities one sees the production of transformative knowledge taking precedent over conserving a civilization. Indeed, on these campuses one will experience an outright contempt for undergraduate education from the faculty, as teaching of undergraduates is a distraction from their real job of publishing articles in obscure journals.
If one has a conservative disposition, a disposition that wants to preserve the best of who we are, then the university is antagonistic toward you.
The same is true in the news media. As journalism evolved in the 20th century, it became the goal of the national journalist to investigate societal injustice, no matter how small.
Think of all the news stories about how this or that business or product is harmful and how we must have greater government oversight to protect the powerless consumer. If one is ill-disposed toward government interventionism or if one simply does not see the world as one large injustice waiting to be corrected, the news media is not for you.
Finally, consider the entertainment world. In the movie industry, for example, since at least the 1960s the goal has been the creation of “provocative” films that challenge convention. Classic Hollywood performed this task as well, but was also capable of defending cultural institutions. Think of the sympathetic portrayal of priests in such films as "Angels With Dirty Faces," "Boys Town," and "Going My Way." Now hardly a year goes by without another batch of films depicting Christianity as narrow minded, bigoted and, in the case of the Catholic Church, part of a historical conspiracy of oppression.
Contemporary Hollywood's “courageous” take on social issues is consistently in one direction. It is also usually more agitprop than provocative as any progressive audience member will find his prejudices confirmed rather than his thoughts provoked. The same is true in music where rock 'n' roll “rebels” trot out progressive tropes about liberation and fighting authority, all the while making millions of dollars working for multi-national corporations. Again, if one wants to preserve a culture rather than transform it, the entertainment world is not for you.
For those who do have a conservative disposition, technology has helped. Access to our civilization's heritage is a keyboard away. Simply opting out of a culture dominated by progressivism has never been easier. So perhaps it is time for conservatives to stop complaining.
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