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As I said, I am perfectly happy to say that those who are center- left are in some sense conservative, just as Joan has a point that those who are center- right, by adhering to democracy, are in some sense liberal. I was only advancing the idea that those who are self- described conservatives make it a focus to promote cultural continuity, as with the Culture Wars on college campuses. Although there are some liberals involved on the "save the canon" and "preserve objective standards of scholarship" side, many of them have by this time made a full journey into the conservative camp, because conservatives have been more reliable on these issues...There are always arbitrary elements in culture, just as there are in languages. However, just as language expresses things, and helps to create a community, so does the wider array of customs, institutions, symbols, and so forth. Change is inevitable, but there must be some elements that are more durable within a particular culture. One of the reasons for a focus on Western Civilization, though, is because it is not only rich in arguably universal content, but binds disparate nations in a sense of common heritage, and thus can mediate between various national and regional cultures.... |
