RESPONDING TO THE CULTURE WARS
Republican culture wars are a political ploy designed to set Americans against each other. They are a trap for Democrats. How to respond when truth won’t win?
QUICK READ: The most rabid culture warrior is Florida governor Ron DeSantis who, last week, signed a bill limiting discussions of race. One outraged state senator said: “The governor is on his bogeyman tour of issues that are not issues. The Republicans continuously cloak themselves in freedom, but clearly pick and choose which freedoms and for whom they support said freedoms …They sure don’t support the freedoms of Black people.”
TAKE ACTION NOW:
BACKGROUND
Democrats have a better vision for America.
It’s hard to persuade voters to support Democrats who want to work for a brighter future when Republicans fill the air with hate-filled culture wars, from masks to math textbooks.
Republicans love culture wars, they just don’t want to win them. Their goal is to keep painting Democrats as immoral, radical, and destructive. Their theatrics “to renew American patriotism” hides their unpopular agenda favoring privileged groups.
The culture wars are a trap:
They divert attention from real problems (banning math textbooks ignores the crisis in teen mental health).
They are promoted as vital issues for the nation but they are designed to set one group of Americans against another.
They are often dog whistles for QAnon believers so that the faithful fringe fear “grooming” in schools when sex education in schools is overwhelmingly supported by voters.
So we ask our Members of Congress (and you) to find the courage to declare
We choose to embrace Americans no matter their color, religion, or sexual orientation.
We value truth, even inconvenient truths.
We want children to be fully educated to tackle tomorrow’s problems.
The antidote to the culture wars is providing an alternative, positive vision, offered with kindness.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Don’t fight the culture wars. Call them out as political ploys. Instead, offer a positive vision for the future of America, a place where people are allowed to be who they are, and children are taught to value history, science and truth.
SEN. WYDEN:
Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Don’t fight the culture wars. Call them out as political ploys. Instead, offer a positive vision for the future of America, a place where people are allowed to be who they are, and children are taught to value history, science and truth.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
Don’t divide us with culture wars. Instead bring us together as Americans.
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Don’t fight the culture wars. Call them out as political ploys. Instead, offer a positive vision for the future of America, a place where people are allowed to be who they are, and children are taught to value history, science and truth.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Don’t divide us with culture wars. Instead bring us together as Americans.
Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Don’t fight the culture wars. Call them out as political ploys. Instead, offer a positive vision for the future of America, a place where people are allowed to be who they are, and children are taught to value history, science and truth.
Script for Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Don’t fight the culture wars. Call them out as political ploys. Instead, offer a positive vision for the future of America, a place where people are allowed to be who they are, and children are taught to value history, science and truth.
Script for Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Don’t fight the culture wars. Call them out as political ploys. Instead, offer a positive vision for the future of America, a place where people are allowed to be who they are, and children are taught to value history, science and truth.
ACTION 3: GOOD TROUBLE
GOOD TROUBLE: Below are opportunities to fight for our democracy. As John Lewis said, go make some “good trouble.”
Find out more about Indivisible Oregon here.
TUESDAY 11:30am-12:30pm LETTER WRITING PARTY - INDIVISIBLE OREGON:
https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/442887/Fridays at 4 - Letter and Postcard Writing — Indivisible Oregon.
Learn about persuasive language and communication research at the Zoom ASO Movement Briefings every second Wednesday.
Join the campaign to hold the House and Senate at GiveNoGround.org
Work to protect democracy in the House by replacing retiring US Representative Peter DeFazio with another Democrat, replacing Democrat Kurt Schrader, the “Manchin of the House,” with a progressive, and electing a Democrat in Oregon’s new Congressional District 6.
Demand that your primary news source stop creating false equivalencies and just report the truth.
Check out the Poor People's Campaign Readies 'Massive, Nonviolent' Effort to Save Democracy
Outside of Portland? Check out COIN Oregon.
Rally inconsisent Democratic voters to vote in 2022 with Progressive Turnout Project | Feb, 2022 | Medium
FURTHER READING:
DeSantis: Critical race theory is "crap," vows to fight it | AP News
‘It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens - The New York Times
Why American Teens Are So Sad - The Atlantic
Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack
'Manufactured boogeyman': Latino critical race theory pioneers, advocates push back - NBC News
Why So Many Conservatives Are Talking About ‘Grooming’ All Of A Sudden | FiveThirtyEight
Why is DeSantis fighting Disney? It's a warning to 'woke' big business
How "woke" became weaponized in the culture wars | London School of Economics/USAPP
Opinion | The Tennessee Law Making School Board Culture Wars Even Worse - The New York Times
Critical race theory thrust into spotlight by misinformation - ABC News
Opinion | ‘Lean Into It. Lean Into the Culture War.’ - The New York Times
The Politics of the Culture Wars in Contemporary America - The Manhatten Institute
In GOP strongholds, a big push on 'culture war' legislation | AP News
America’s culture wars distract from what’s happening beneath them | Gary Gerstle | The Guardian
