"Culture Wars? How 2004."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/reclaiming_faith_and_politics.html

E. J. Dionne addresses the issue of whether the emerging culture wars during the Bush election was a new discussion or one we are familiar with.  He goes as far back as 1928 during Prohibition.  The debates surrounded entirely on morals and what will come of the people elected.

He agrees entirely that during Bush's election, the issue surrounding moral values not only surfaced, but was the center of discussion. 

What's interesting about this particular article is that it claims we are now at the end of such an era.  That over-shadowing issues (like the Economic crisis in our time or the Great Depression in Hoover's) make our moral discussions "less pressing."  They can be set aside for later discussion after the issues at hand are solved.  It's as though when things need to be solved, we're able to focus on the larger picture.

His claim seems to make perfect sense but makes us question if it's valid. As hopeful as we are that when a crisis comes along similar to the one we're in we're able to set aside bickering, it seems as though 2009 is not a total departure from such issues.  But just as Dionne can look back on Prohibition and the Depression, we too will look back and see if we successfully navigated through our time.