The most recent outbreak of the culture wars, having to do with contraception, is but the latest episode in the high stakes clash of cultures that is taking place in the U.S. We are finding it increasingly difficult to talk across the boundaries of our differences. Congress both exemplifies and has become a symbol of the breakdown in communications between Right and Left in America. In the church, the same thing has happened, and if anything the split between evangelical and mainline churches is deeper and wider than that between the political parties. We do not seem to be able to talk to each other even though we all take the name of Christ.What's going on? Nothing new, actually. As bad as things seem at the moment, it's been worse, and we are simply going through a particularly forceful upsurge in ideological tension, which is otherwise always with us. If science reporter Chris Mooney is correct (here), our contemporary culture wars are rooted in our biology. He points to a growing body of research (here) that is exploring biological differences between self-identified liberals and conservatives, and it appears that we are "wired" differently biologically. The research suggests that conservatives tend to approach stressful or fearful encounters defensively and to react more forcefully to perceived threats. Liberals tend to approach potentially threatening situations less defensively and less forcefully—or so the research suggests.
Mooney concludes,
An increasing body of science suggests that we disagree about politics not for intellectual or philosophical reasons, but because we have fundamentally different ways of responding to the basic information presented to us by the world. These are often ways of which we are not even aware--automatic, subconscious--but that color all of our perceptions, and that effectively drive us apart politically.We have to be cautious here. First, the research into our ideological differences is ongoing and conclusions such as these are tentative. Second, the researchers would tend to fit into the category of "liberal," and thus we should take their conclusions with a grain of salt. That being said, it does make some sense that we are wired differently for a reason. Some of us are inclined biologically to push the boundaries, explore new possibilities, and see threats as challenges so that society takes up those new possibilities and doesn't stagnate. Others of us are inclined biologically to see the danger in threats and seek to be protective and stay safe so that society doesn't bite off more than it can chew or go charging off in dangerous directions.
It is hardly surprising that in an age of increasingly rapid change the biologically conservative side of the equation would become increasingly protective and defensive—or that the biologically liberal side would become increasingly willing to head off in potentially dangerous directions (nanotechnology being one of the most promising and scariest). There is, obviously, more to the culture wars than biology, but it is at least helpful to know that there is a biological component to it all. We're only doing what humans do, and there is a good reason why we're doing it.
