In 1898 H. G. Wells wrote a novel about Martians who came to Earth to attack humans. His War of the Worlds, set in rural England, with the names of localities and allusions to historical occurrences in the story.
On October 30, 1938 Orson Welles, American actor and producer, with others, adapted that story for a radio play on The Mercury Theater on the Air, over the CBS radio network. This production has caused much misinformation down through the 84 years since it was performed, and still stands as one of the most controversial radio dramas ever presented. In that era, many people, in the millions some projected, sat around the radio set they had in their living rooms and were entertained by actors and technicians who made the stories seem real. (On a personal note, as a boy I remember doing this in the late 1940s when The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, The Shadow, among others, were broadcast.)
The script writer, Howard Koch, changed the location to rural New Jersey, at a place called Grover’s Mill, with the ‘Martians’ landing in a space ship and wreaking havoc until they got to New York City. Eventually the invaders died, as they had no immunity to some of Earth’s deadly diseases.
Welles had the drama unfold as a normal Sunday evening show, with music and commercials. However, quickly it became a national nightmare as he had actors playing reporters who related the deadly events as news reports interrupting the program. Reports of wide-spread panic were overblown, but some people did. No verified instances of suicides occurred, but at least one was attempted. In the days that followed the program, it was estimated that 12,500 news stories were printed about Welles radio play.
There have been many reported instances of UFOs in the United States and other parts of the world, but so far none has spewed deadly Martians who take over our land and destroy our culture. The War of the Worlds was a fantasy, a science fiction story that Welles’ adaption made famous. We don’t have such in our world today. But — do we?
In America today, there are two sides of a culture war, and neither side is willing to cede ground to the other, nor willing to compromise. In a sense, we are in a war of different worlds, culturally and politically, with the battleground of ideas playing out in our election process. One week from Tuesday, a battle for the soul of America will take place in the voting venues across our land. What are these two who are engaging in this War of the Worlds in 2022?
On one side are those who are obsessed with power to implement their agenda. This agenda includes such ideas and narratives that would have been unthinkable in the America of my youth. One political party has a litmus test of allowing abortion, even to the point of birth, and anyone disagreeing with them are labeled ‘enemies of democracy’ (which term is not found in our basic documents).
Other ideas are just also taken as part of their gospel. A green new world is one of those, where we need to get rid of fossil fuels and use only renewable resources for our energy. Many in this party also kowtow to the smallest demographics and even our *President claims that one of these, the trans community, is the critical civil rights issue facing the United States. The LGBTQ+, comprising, at most, one of every 20 Americans, seems to drive the narrative, even to having an entire month devoted to their life styles. WalMart even had rainbow colored accessories for dogs displayed!
Education has been one of the places where this party has succeeded. From calling parents who object to policies ‘domestic terrorists’, to teaching CRT as true history, to having sex taught to children under eight years of age, a generation of our kids are being taught stuff no one in their right mind would have introduced when I was in elementary school. When the pandemic struck, this party was fine with keeping students out of school; this has caused, in some cases, children to lose up to a year of advancement in their education.
Our southern border is not being respected and resembles a sieve more than a barrier. Just last month over 220,000 illegal immigrants were encountered coming into the U. S., with another several thousand ‘get aways’ not even encountered much less apprehended. Fiscal year 2022 saw about 2.4 million illegals enter the United States, with most of them not sent back to their country of origin.
Christianity is sneered at by this party, given only lip service when addressed at all. That which might have been considered ‘beyond the pale’ has become commonplace now. You cannot belong to this party in this war without becoming a foe of the 2nd Amendment, and anti-gun laws have been proposed in every blue state the past two years.
The military has been emasculated in the last two years in this culture war. One of the primary items addressed was use of the proper pronouns, and the science of war was given a back seat. A disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan was typical of this administration’s use of the most powerful fighting force in the world.
There are so many more ideas and narratives that this side of the war espouses that it would take more room than I have for comment. But know that this side in the culture war will do anything to succeed. They were voted in* to office and began to implement their agenda the first day in office.
But there is a second entity in this culture war. Many of its tenets are the polar opposite of its beliefs. This side has not been very effective in countering the beliefs of their ‘enemies’, but in recent time, since their opponents took power, more are coming to the idea that this culture war is real and that they need to counter it with ideas and actions of their own.
In the conservative circles of this culture war, the dominant theme is that we need to get back to a simpler time where values were more conservative and time tested. Included in this is that we need to get America back to being energy self sufficient, which their foes scuttled in the first day of power. According to this side of the culture war, every asset, every deposit of coal, gas and oil is to be exploited and used.
When it comes to marginalized communities, this side does not discriminate, but realizes that the majority has rights, too. A balance is needed, to respect the rights of minorities, but also to advance the interests of all Americans. They believe in M. L. King, Jr.’s assertion that we need to be judged on the ‘content of our character’, not on some subjective idea of equity.
Education is very important to this side of the culture war. They want to return to the basics of teaching — subjects like reading, math, writing, thinking. Parents are the most important people in a child’s education and schools need to be addressing their needs and what they wish their children to learn. They are for school choice and the traditional values that used to be taught in our public schools. Far from being old-fashioned and not useful the ‘old ways’, according to the prophet Jeremiah, are the ones that are good and profitable.
Immigration that is legal is good for the fabric of America, but the unchecked invasion on our southern border is not. When the last President began building a wall between the U. S. and Mexico, most on this side of the culture war cheered, and massive illegal immigration was slowed down. An indication of this is in the numbers. One of the last months of the last administration saw about 52,000 encounters at the border, but last month’s was over 220,000!
Religion is very important to this side of our culture war. Most of the nation is Christian, and many believe that adherence to its values enhance our way of life. Prayer is encouraged, and church attendance is far greater on this side of the culture divide than on the other.
When it come to the 2nd Amendment, most in the more conservative strain believe in the usefulness of weapons in the hands of the populous as a check on unbridled power by those in present office. In fact, many would accept the idea of constitutional carry for the masses, and blame gun violence not on the gun but on the criminal who uses it.
The military is vital to the existence of our nation. Just recently it was determined that our armed services were more weak than strong, and conservatives were rightly upset. We need more emphasis on fighting and strategy and less on what our preferred pronouns are.
Most on this side of the cultural chasm are pro-life, advocating for the unborn and making sure the most vulnerable have a chance at that cherished right enunciated by Jefferson, the right to life. These cheered when Roe was overturned, and cried because it came too late for the over sixty million who never saw the light of day through abortion.
This war will be played out in thousands of voting booths on November 8, with ballots instead of bullets; no death rays of heat used, only rhetoric from overheated partisans. No death rays are anticipated, like the death rays of the Martians in The War of the Worlds.
As a loyal American, none of us can be a bystander in this crucial War of the Culture Worlds. Vote as if life itself depended on it!