Yes, that is exactly what it sounds like. In this day and age, with the current political climate, the two main political groups of people in America (conservatives and liberals) have started to exert control over certain kinds of entertainment or subjects in the country. This comes after the very controversial midterms have started approaching, which are due to occur in November of this year. Many have started dubbing it the “national divorce” or the “cold civil war”. I am steering clear of most of those kinds of names, though, mostly because I think they are far more extreme than what is actually happening.
Liberals in America have often been identified as the kinds of people who support public transit, equal rights, and other general topics of caring for humans as one people. Conservatives have been seen traditionally as the party of gun rights, capitalism, and religious integration into our national politics. Certain forms of entertainment are also typically associated with these two, with acting, singing, and liberal arts (not political but rather literally liberal arts) being identified alongside liberalism, and conservatism receiving American football, NASCAR, and hockey. Note that this list is not limited to these things in particular, but was simply often identified with these two groups, respectively.
However, in recent times, many of these subjects or forms of entertainment have been unexpectedly transferred over to liberals, in what many are thinking is just the start of a blue wave in both politics and entertainment. NASCAR has started to shift heavily to a left-wing agenda with the ban of the Confederate Flag at all races, and even the inclusion of female drivers in a predominantly male-led racing sport. Unlike most sports that divide genders into men’s and women’s sports, NASCAR has decided to leave drivers to mix genders within the sport. If we are talking about the NFL, then we need not look far, as one of the most recent halftime shows with artist Kendrick Lamar was the most-watched halftime show in the history of the NFL, at 133 million viewers, and with Bad Bunny recently hitting 128.5 million viewers. Two shows that arguably preached inclusion, protested against conservatism, and anti-racism were among the most watched in the NFL’s history. Now, one could argue that this is because of the access provided by technology, but that does not explain why previous shows with the same technology have not been viewed the same. It also says something that immigrant populations have started to adopt these traditionally conservative majority sports into their lives. It’s assimilation that is bringing in liberalism to a predominantly conservative sport.
If we are talking politics, the Second Amendment, also known as the right to bear arms, has also become an exceedingly liberal talking point. From Kamala Harris discussing the right of Americans to own a gun, telling a reporter that she owns a Glock in that same discussion, to many LGBTQ+ folks starting to train with firearms like AR-15s and Berettas out of caution for their own and their communities’ safety. The National Rifle Association even came in to defend trans people who were being threatened with the removal of this right, for what conservatives said was attributed to the “mental illness” of trans people. This was indeed a shocking turn from what many liberals expect of the NRA.
Even Baseball has started to adopt pride nights for its LGBTQ+ fans in the crowd, as a way of showing solidarity with their fans who may be in the community. While conservatives have criticized the move for many years, players have come to defend it as simply something that should be done. Baseball, the historically very non-liberal sport that was once staunchly against black players in the league, has now become a small symbol of inclusion.
Now, this isn’t to say that we are winning the midterms. If you are a registered voter, you should still vote. However, it is still very important to understand that these shifts didn’t come from nowhere. To my conservative readers, I tell you that we aren’t infiltrating these things that you love so much. Instead, it’s that people have started to realize everything that is currently going wrong with having a conservative government. As liberals, we shouldn’t be finding ourselves agreeing with Marjorie Taylor Greene, Joe Rogan, or Fox News. Yet here we are. When a warehouse is burned because the workers there can’t make a livable wage, despite their very CEO’s making up to 280 dollars for every dollar a worker makes, it’s not because workers are greedy; it’s because the politicians in power have allowed this to happen. That further drives the very people conservatives rely on for opinions to start steering away from the type of policies our politicians have created. While the great Emirate of Mamdanistan (New York City for those who don’t keep up with modern jokes) gets a government-run grocery store opening soon before winter, small towns and villages across America are losing healthcare coverage because rural hospitals are closing.
All this to say to my conservative friends and readers is not to reconsider your political party, but to reconsider what you vote for. Gone are the times when we actually vote for common sense and common decency. But they are not entirely gone if we simply come to our senses. If liberals couldn’t show you every red flag about this administration for some reason, at least let those you listen to show you the red flags.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/11/super-bowl-lx-audience-figures-bad-bunny-halftime-show