ABSTRACT
Elites have always buttressed their authority with traditional beliefs and practices that were preserved and transmitted as the official, singular culture. But with the development of literacy and democracy, empowered minority groups across the globe have contested and transformed official monocultures, which has created cultural wars as conservatives fought back to preserve their traditional culture. One of the most divisive cultural wars of the 20th century took place in the United States of America, and one of the most contested battlegrounds was literacy in public schools. A culture war can be seen as a debate over national identity between conservatives and progressives who have deep ideological and moral divisions that may be irreconcilable. The only hope to defuse cultural wars is commitment to rationality and peaceful debate.
