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Why do people engage in culture war though? I mean in some cases it is necessary like literal wars or a group actively holding hostile views against another and opposes thier rights on the basis of prejudice. But much of the discourse I have seen is more about attacking the group and pulling down even normal members of the group ignoring that they are not some genocidal murderers. Even though they bear some responsibilities for their own group or country it ignores that normal people often avoid conflict rather than holding the same prejudiced beliefs themselves.
I don't really think culture war is the solution, because whether one side is right or wrong it ultimately makes a breeding ground for hatred and nobody here will be listening to the facts and work upon a solution. It is sort of like our race, color, wealth, institutions etc .. all make up our identity of who we are. Any attack on these are an attack on the person belonging to that said group (and I am not talking about criticism of the group). Will anyone sit to think about thier position? Of course not because human nature is reactionary and much of out actions are governed by feelings. It would be unrealistic to expect the person being attacked to be reasonable, especially if it is actively hostile. But it will lead to a never ending war with each other without any solutions.
I can only speak for myself. But I (mostly) "wage" the culture war because I believe that culture actually matters, and, in fact it matters much more than many people in modern society would like to admit. There are a lot of people who are libertarians (and those to the left of them), who essentially think nothing but GDP and economic growth, and taxes matter, and that cultural/societal norms are largely arbitrary. What these people don't understand is that culture effects economics, (and the inverse is also true: economics affects culture).
A small scale example of this is the job market: the best and easiest way to get hired at a job is via nepotism: aka a friend or family member recommends you to the boss or hiring manager, and your resume gets pulled through, you get interviewed, and then hired. This is effective because the hiring manager has some background information on you, that he doesn't have about random applicants online. But increasingly, people are becoming more isolated, and are having less friendships. We often here a lot about college grads having a hardtime finding a job, but we are also (Im speaking for me, Im gen-z) far less likely to have close friends than previous generations. If we had more connections it would probably help us get in the door faster and easier.
A large scale example is declining birthrates: an arguably cultural change that will and is already having massive implications. As populations age, we need more people to pay for retirement, and also fill jobs in the increasingly large healthcare sector. (Fun fact: healthcare is what is having the largest job growth!). We are running out of people, which is having large economic effect on socially safety net and healthcare systems.
Point is, the general idea that culture "doesnt matter" or is arbitrary is absurd. Lifestyles matter, and Im a firm believer that there is a heiarchy, to quote Charles Murray in his interview with Ronald Bailey via ReasonTV.
Note: Murray is talking specifically about the lower class, but much of this is affecting all economic classes. It simply happens to impact the lower class the most.
Of course, All I've said, you can probably guess which side of this war I'm biased towards. But I'm more or less convinced that the conservative positions on these issues are better overall than anything I've seen in more liberal and progressive circles.
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