America’s Never-Ending Culture War

Writing for the New York Times, 2018–19 Member in the School of Social Science Michael Kazin recalls the civil strife surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He argues that the cultural, social, and political divisions of that period, "rooted in profound disagreements based on culture and creeds that are impervious to compromise," have largely endured over the last fifty years.

"Liberals and leftists still battle with conservatives over most of the other big issues that roiled the nation back then," writes Kazin, including "affirmative action, the right to abortion, freedom for gays and lesbians, curbs on corporate power, environmental protection, the politics of academia—and rulings by the Supreme Court that cheer one camp and infuriate the other."