Emotion in the Culture Wars

"Reviewing for the New York Times, Stephen Holden calls 'Brokeback' an 'epic western.' This sent me to Dictionary.com. Epic: 'a literary or dramatic composition ... celebrating heroic feats,' like 'Beowulf.' 'Brokeback' is moving, even to cultural skeptics. ... But heroic? To devotees of the Times Arts section, yes. [The bisexual protagonists] are the heroes. The bigoted society that keeps them apart is the monster. Surviving is the heroic feat. ...

"Cultural liberals, starring in their own vision of history, play out their edifying drama as long as they can. If cultural liberalism is to work on an emotional level, the struggle -- for civil rights, women's rights, workers' rights, the environment, gay rights, or all of the above in a righteous amalgamation -- must go on. If that means pretending that nothing changes and success perpetually remains a tiny dot on the horizon, so be it."

Louis Wittig, writing on "Gay Cowboys on West 68th Street," Dec. 21 in National Review Online at www.nationalreview.com

Washington Times Link.