Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Culture Wars: Conservative Freedom vs. Liberal Liberation

By Christopher Chantrill

The recent skirmish over compelling Catholic organizations to offer contraception and abortifacient services to their employees reminds us of the big issue between conservatives and liberals in the culture wars.  It bears repeating: conservatives believe in freedom; our liberal friends believe in liberation.

Both traditions start with the same impulse: breaking the chains of slavery, and that is why both conservative and liberal celebrate the redemption of America's Original Sin.  Actually, our great victory over slavery was unique, for it was only in America that the slavery issue was resolved in a bloody civil war.  Chalk that up to the American can-do spirit.  Americans had made plantation slavery so efficient and so profitable that many of us were unable to see beyond the profits to the monstrosity of slave-holding in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

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