Williams: Culture wars draw attention but do not address Fayetteville, local concerns
America’s culture war is in full stride, and beer has moved into the middle of the fight. Once one of the nation’s favorites, Bud Light has spiraled down to 14th place.
The reason is Anheuser-Busch’s decision to use transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a controversial promotion for the beer. The beer-maker has since lost over $27 billion in market value.
The sad news is the trouble doesn’t stop there. A similar challenge is spreading through other corporations. Partnering or pandering to a select group is a company’s legal right, but ultimately, it may cost them.
Identity has become the polarizing politics of the 21st century.
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There is a correlation between political power and culture wars, and savvy politicians are finding creative ways to exploit differences. Political messaging around social issues has become a powerful component of political strategies. Politicians will continue to focus on wedge issues, because they have proved successful.
National and state drama always steals the spotlight from local governments, evidenced by the dismal voter turnout compared to other elections. But local governance, in many ways, is more important than state and national governance.
Most basic services, including utilities, sanitation, schools and public safety, are determined locally. So why don’t voters pay more attention to their local government, which addresses the issues they care about most? The answer is complex, but hopefully, citizens are tuned in enough to realize elections are underway for the Fayetteville City Council and the other townships in Cumberland County; the filing period for candidates just ended on Friday.
Many things are happening in Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and it matters. The community murder rate continues to be too high. Fayetteville was recently ranked #8 on a list of the most stressed cities in America. Other North Carolina cities on the list were Winston-Salem (71), Greensboro (90), Durham (118), Charlotte (119), and Raleigh ((138).
There are several reasons Fayetteville made the top ten, and one is that citizens don’t feel safe. Last week, WTVD ABC 11 reported that several residents from a public housing complex on Grove Street said they were frightened and frustrated over the ongoing violence in their community.
One resident described how her car was shot 15 times recently. They say the violent acts have occurred for over two years and cannot understand why the police have been unable to do something about their situation.
While local governments have traditionally been thought relatively powerless and nonpartisan, things have rapidly changed. Recent years have seen local governments, including our own, jump into cultural conflicts as well.
Hopefully, our elected leaders and those seeking office will remain focused on solving our local problems and side-step the disputes grounded in moral concerns that are hypersensitive to the public and likely to turn our community into an ideological battleground.
Politics is becoming increasingly bitter and divisive. People are passionately choosing sides on contentious issues. Social and political splits are good media topics but rarely solve our community concerns.
Troy Williams is a member of The Fayetteville Observer Community Advisory Board. He is a legal analyst and criminal defense investigator. He can be reached at talk2troywilliams@yahoo.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Williams: Bud Light, culture wars do not address Fayetteville, local issues
