These claims of cultural oppression are not always labeled as such, but they are the perennial subtext of many ostensibly narrower issues. They are at play whenever we hear of the hegemony of secularism and the marginalization of Christians, the New York Times’s animus toward prominent conservatives, the preening censoriousness of the campus Left, or the assault on the traditional family. These claims are being issued every time a conservative bemoans the ever-widening influence of the “liberal elites” in media, academia, or government. Conservative claims of cultural oppression are familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in American politics.
