I don’t want to belabor the obvious, but this country is mighty polarized just now. Have a look at the latest New York Times best seller list. It’s filled with attack books from the right and the left. Right now, the left is slightly dominant, in marked contrast to the months after 9/11. But both sides are in full culture war mode. It isn’t just a question of right versus left. The sheer number of political books on the best seller list is striking–and it’s been this way since 9/11. Am I wrong to say that there was a time when political books did not dominate the best-seller list? We aren’t just polarized, we’re politicized. September 11 still energizes the right, and the right’s attack books still focus on 9/11 and the terrorist threat. The challenges of post-war Iraq have energized the left, which is pushing its theme of the “lies” of the right. Each side thinks the other is ripe for defeat. Meanwhile the Dixie Chicks say they no longer consider themselves to be part of country music. That’s a pretty impressive bit of polarization. I still think Natalie and her fellow chicks just don’t get it. They don’t see that their controversial remarks went beyond merely expressing opposition to the war and represented a kind of insult to the South that was bound to alienate their fans. (See this old Corner post of mine and scroll up.) But the gulf between country fans who see the Chicks’ remarks as dishonorable, and the Chicks themselves, who simply see their words as a straightforward political protest, shows that we are dealing with a cultural chasm. Still don’t believe me? Then consult the article by James Q. Wilson and Karlyn Bowman in the latest issue of The Public Interest.