To quote myself:

Humans evolve, their societies evolve and their language evolves.  Institutions must evolve with them or die.  Is this where the Republican Party is at today?

In a fast-changing culture, can the GOP get in step with modern America?

Across the cultural landscape, the national consensus is evolving rapidly, epitomized by this year’s convulsions of celebrity, social issues and politics — including the acceptance of Caitlyn Jenner’s gender identity, Pope Francis’s climate-change decree and the widespread shunning of the Confederate flag.

Then came Friday’s landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. As rainbow colors bathed the White House and other landmarks in celebration, the entire field of Republican presidential candidates condemned the ruling.

This uneven terrain is now a key battlefield in the 2016 campaign, unnerving red America and fueling intense debate within the Republican Party about how to navigate such changes — or whether to adapt to the mainstream at all.

Europe evolved beyond the 4,000 year old societal teachings of the Old Testament decades ago but the United States has been slower.  That is changing rapidly but the Republican Party  is having trouble adapting thanks in part to it’s ties in the South.  The Republican base is still firmly entrenched in the mythology of war like tribal nomads in the middle east.  There are a few but perhaps too few Republicans that understand this.

Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, said that speaking only to the base about issues of God, guns, gays and abortion isn’t enough to win. “Republicans need to recognize this and change the terms of the conversation — or they’ll pay the price for decades,” Brooks said.

One likely candidate trying to soften the party’s language is Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who espouses what he calls “the kindness of conservatism.” A devout Christian, Kasich looks to the activist pope as a model.

In Iowa last week, Kasich advocated a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants — a lightning-rod issue in the Republican primary season. When he encountered an undocumented woman and her young son, Kasich said, “They are made in the image of the Lord.”

The Republican presidential candidates still must pander to the base to win primaries so they probably can’t win a general election since most of the country has left that base behind.  Church attendance as at an all time low and at least here in Oregon and there are a number of boarded up former evangelical churches.  Candidates like Mike Huckabee, who is even being mocked on FOX news, and Rick Santorum are laughed at in much of the country.  Yes, humans and their societies evolve and institutions that don’t evolve with them die.

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