Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The Culture War in Perspective

Machine Trooper, a self described "Pop Culture Scrutineer Supreme from the Manosphere" gives his take on the Culture War using this real-world historical analogy:

For generations centrists and everyone right-of-center simply have not shown up for the culture wars. Predictably, the leftists have blitzed right through battlefields of opinion and ideas unopposed–like the Red Army rolling through eastern Poland in 1939–so that their monopoly on the flow of information, including creative expression, was ironclad.

And yet...

Marxists (cultural and otherwise) are not only vulnerable, they’ve become arrogant from never being challenged for so long, and prove to be weak, inept cowards when confronted by a smart, determined opposition. They are beatable. Very much so.

I have stated this many times, albeit with less flair, to my despairing friends in the loosely defined pro-freedom cultural movement. The reason the Left seems to have unbreakable dominance in culture is because our side has not been on the field. Oh sure, we get excited about this or that issue once in a while, make some noise, occasionally even win, BUT - and this is crucial - once the excitement dies out, we, to continue with the military theme "declare victory and go home," leaving the battlefield to those more determined (or those less preoccupied with the general business of life, such as family and day jobs, as the case might be).

The only way to win long term, to reclaim the hearts and minds of the people who have fallen under the siren song of the Left, is not with political gains, nor with more educational materials, although both have their place. The real answer lies in entertainment, and more specifically in storytelling. "The Narrative" is a popular expression nowadays, usually utilized in negative, politicized context, but it need not be so. Simply put, the side that tells the better story wins. And the more I look around at the amount of raw (and not-so-raw) talent in the pro-freedom movement, the more convinced I become that we can do this. We can win, handily, and have fun doing it. 

It was with that goal in mind that a fellow author Kia Heavy and I formed Conservative-Libertarian Fiction Alliance group on Facebook, and the response has been both enthusiastic and gratifying. Since Machine Trooper has done such an excellent job summarizing our purpose and progress to date, I suggest you read the rest of his post here. Afterwards, I hope you follow his advice to check both our website and the Facebook group and join us in our battle to advance the cause of freedom through promoting high-quality fiction.

These are trying days for freedom lovers, but do not despair. Politics is transitory, but art endures. And because the best art is rooted in truth, this is the battle we will not lose. All we need to do is keep showing up.



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