Culture War?

O'Reilly, Hillary, Cheney, Boxer, and the list goes on. These are the people shaping our political sphere these days, presenting increasingly extreme "purist" forms of liberalism and conservatism. As they present extreme choices for voters, the majority, who are actually in the middle and not tagging along the extremities, are alienated. Even worse, politicians imposing their extremism on the electorate (given that the electorate only has two viable choices in any given major election--both of which are extreme--politicians can claim that the electorate is following the candidates) can create the facade of a "culture war", which they attempt to use to their advantage. Thus, the majority of Americans are in the middle, understanding both sides of arguments and sympathizing with both or neither candidate while being forced to choose a) between two extremes or b) to not vote or participate at all. 

In the end, there is a culture war, but it is not between the "polarized electorate" but between polarized factions--bits of extremism who are fanatical enough to run for office, to donate money to like-minded organizations, to become infotainers, to stage rallies and get recognized. Meanwhile, America's main doesn't diverge too much on issues like abortion, homosexuality, immigration, or even national security. The talking heads leading both parties from the extremes make it look like that, but they are actually representing small and intense minorities from each side. The culture war is not a battle between the religious and the non-religious or the traditionally moral and the progressive. It's between black-and-white purists who focus on one or two issues without compromise and are crazy enough to constantly advocate their positions in public. 

I admit that I'm leaning toward that direction on a few issues, namely abortion and immigration, though I have yet to run for office or even affiliate myself with a party. I have a long way to go before I can call myself a soldier in this tiny but media-grabbing and therefore deceiving culture war.