It would almost appear that the assault on our standards and institutions in this country is a perpetual reality. Those with an interest in tearing down our established foundations are indeed a constant presence, and there is no shortage of people wanting to force their will onto others as a whole. It can be a taxing (yes, pun intended)
It may seem as conservatives we are under this constant duress, but that is a reality between the causes; conservatism has a basis in liberty which leads to more of a live-and-let-live attitude, while liberalism and progressivism are rooted in change and the need to constantly shift. While the Right is content with, "Hey, go do your thing," the Left is actively saying, “You must adapt to my thing!” It is not enough for the leftist to be free to enact their desire; that desire must also be imposed upon, and accepted by, others.
The Joe Biden administration is emblematic of this very trait. In just 2023 alone, we have seen his government come forward with hoped-for impositions on the citizenry, with proclamations on gas stoves, lawnmowers, our energy industry, and numerous other standards and practices. This month (August), incandescent light bulbs were no longer available. Last week, we had his Alcohol Czar coming up with restrictive recommendations on our liquor intake. The latest has been targeting ceiling fans.
These constant, hectoring efforts are the federal government attempting the camel’s nose under the tent scenario, seeking out as many areas as possible to find the least resistance and then barreling the way in to establish the inertia of a perpetual government, entrenched and permanent. There is good news to be seen, however; there have been signs of resistance to these efforts from the right being successful.
After pushing the gas stove idiocy (with help from the media), the proposal was met with blowback, mostly from the right. You saw how effective the opposition and mockery became when the reaction was that conservatives had made it all up, and this was their attempt at starting a culture war out of thin air. Sure…those on the right just arbitrarily concocted this claim about an attack on gas stoves – for what reason?
The fact was they were called out, and effectively beaten back on the push. Their neutered attempt to save face was to accuse those reacting to their idiotic attempt of creating a fight. They started it when they hit us back! It was literally a case of gaslighting, but it was only the start of a year that has seen repeated examples of successful reactions by those on the right, or even moderates who are simply tired of the constant drone of mandated changes.
The most blatant example has been the Bud Light marketing fiasco. Not only did the beer brand attempt to align itself with the most overt cultural issue, but the executives in charge also insulted the customer base, calling their drinkers “fratty” and in need of revised thinking. The customers responded by effectively telling Anheuser Busch that if they were viewed as a problem, then they would help out the company by removing themselves from involvement.
In a similar fashion, Target Stores met its own customer flight over its transgender children’s line of clothing. Added to this are the ongoing misfortunes of Disney, which has been addicted to foisting woke agenda items on the marketplace – and seemingly addicted to failing across numerous media. But the more revealing and impactful way to see the failing efforts in the general push from the government--and the specific efforts at forcing propaganda on the public by the media--is not in the boycotts.
This whole year has seen a number of success stories in the culture that have defied attempts at enforcing the cancel culture. This summer, we witnessed two examples in the music industry. Jason Aldean became a curious target when his song “Try That In A Small Town” was met with an imbalance of outrage in the press. The likes of The Daily Beast and - especially - Rolling Stone, which spewed a dozen or so attempts to kill off the song, went at it--only to see it hit the top of the national music charts. Weeks later, Oliver Anthony went through a similar process of media condemnation and popular adulation.
In theaters, an upstart project was released on Tuesday, July 4. After a crowdfunding push helped Angel Studios to obtain the rights to “Sound Of Freedom”, the release was met with a very odd, negative response from the entertainment media. Why a true-life film about child sex trafficking and the hero who battles it (once heralded by this same press) had been met with such harsh reactions is grounds for rampant speculation. But despite the hysterics in the press, the film became such a hit that it has earned more than established franchise entries like the new ”Indiana Jones” and Tom Cruise in the latest “Mission Impossible.”
The message of Sound of Freedom continues to ring true for everyone that god's children are not for sale.https://t.co/5QpCciarjA
— Sound of Freedom | Movie (@SOFMovie2023) August 3, 2023
And not forgotten was the attempted furor at the start of the year. The video game media, and other outlets, made an attempt at stifling the prospects of the release of “Hogwarts Legacy,” an immersive game based directly on the Harry Potter property. Author J.K. Rowling has been the target of social scolds because of her adherence to the concept that a woman is someone born as a female. Because of this supposedly monstrous opinion, this new video game was supposed to be spurned.
Some gaming outlets refused to review the game and others claimed it would be boycotted. Yet at the same time, they would not refrain from delivering numerous outrage posts in order to generate traffic, of course. The months of their opposition outrage only led to the game breaking sales records and becoming one of the most successful releases in years.
Hogwarts Legacy has surpassed 15 million unit sales and grossed over $1 billion, according to Warner Bros. Discoveryhttps://t.co/0B92IZhSIs pic.twitter.com/TWdOqYr8Nm
— VGC (@VGC_News) May 5, 2023
These success stories are, of course, lightly covered in the press because doing so would expose the failed attempts by the same press corps at swaying public opinion in the other direction. It would also be an admission that those on the right have a measure of power over the culture they would prefer to deny. The perception that the press controls the accepted dialogue is a mirage, and the results -- either through boycotts or market support -- point to more strength by consumers.
