In her NewsReal blog, Kathy Shaidle complains that conservatives aren't culturally literate enough.
I feel her pain. Sorta.
I think I'm an artist at heart. Whether I am good or bad is not the point.
I'm also first and foremost a Catholic.
I cannot stand most of what passes for popular culture.
I know this would make Kathy (and others) bristle, but I'm going to go ahead and say it:
It's sinful.
And I'm not complaining that it talks about sin, or deals with sin.
It promotes sin.
And it's sometimes...(brace yourselves, here's another Catholic word coming) unchaste.
I studied English lit in college. That place that's supposedly a big waste of time. I eagerly watch good movies and I go to the library to read whenever I can.
But it's such a crapshoot to get anything worthwhile, that unless I know ahead of time what I'm getting into, I just don't bother.
That being said, the urge to delight in culture is still strong within me. I can't stand the liberal critical theory that you're supposed to regurgitate (I dropped out of my Master's in English-- now THERE'S a waste of time).
I feel like conservatives should be trying harder to create their own forms of culture.
And why isn't that being done?
Now, part of it is what Kathy's talking about. There is a certain current of anti-culture among conservatives.
But part of it is that there's a lack of "canon" for things that conservatives should be reading/watching/listening.
And if there isn't that critical mass of conservative culture being developed, conservatives are just not going to go there.
As it is, popular culture beats conservatives down. Why would conservatives subject themselves to more of what they reject?
That doesn't mean that conservatives have to "brag about being stupid".
But it's hard to be culturally literate in a culture that rejects you.
And if you don't consume culture, you are far less likely to produce it.
It's a vicious circle.
I don't know the answer. I just know that I don't like it.
I want to be part of a culturally literate movement.
