'Culture of Life' is a Culture of Fear

[checks-n-balances]

Published on Friday, April 1, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
'Culture of Life' is a Culture of Fear
by Ira Chernus

...When they talk about a “culture of life,”...the right-wingers are trying to tell us that we’re missing the point. The debate is not about life, it’s about CULTURE. Everyone agrees that life is good. But the United States is split by a deep cultural divide about what makes a life good. Once we bring that divide into focus, the “culture of life” side begins to look a bit more logically consistent. And those of us who oppose them begin to see more clearly just where the lines need to be drawn.

(snip)

On one side are the religious and social (no, they aren’t all religious) conservatives who wave the “culture of life” banner. Basically, they are people who are afraid of uncertainty, ambiguity, and change in the realm of moral values. Their position is simple:
- moral values must be universal, timeless, unchanging truths
- we should receive them from religious traditions or authority figures
- once we get fixed truths, we should stick with them, no matter what

(snip)

For the right-wingers,...the idea that “anything is possible” is terrifying. Their “culture of life” is really a culture of fear. They believe that human nature is basically selfish, competitive, and aggressive, If anything is possible, who can predict what crime or evil will happen next? How can anyone feel safe? The world would be spinning out of control. We need fixed rules that come from unquestionable authority. That’s the only way to keep us all from running amok.

(snip)

We can’t let them inscribe their fear-driven beliefs onto our laws. No compromise on that one. And we ought to encourage them to join us in a civil discussion about the issue. All the while, though, it won’t hurt to remember that they are frightened and hurting...

More at
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0401-32.htm

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Ira Chernus is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder and author of American Nonviolence: The History of an Idea. He can be reached at [e-mail]

[fooj]

1. Sounds more like a "Culture of Death" to me...

Peace!

[checks-n-balances]

2. Yes, it IS a "Culture of Death"

I guess that's why some people rightly call it "The Neo-Con Death Cult"!

[Cha]

3. I've read "culture of strife" and

and "culture of fright"..it is anything but a culture of life. Just one more of those Orwellian phrases coming from those who have stolen America!