Culture "War"?

I've been wondering about this term, which floats around in the media, in the blogosphere, everywhere. I've been thinking that here we have another hyperbolic use of "war" as a descriptor for the differences of opinion which pervade our culture. It is ours, isn't it? Don't all of us contribute to its many facets? it isn't truly monolithic, is it? especially not if you turn off the TV for an extended period of time. At some point I plan to blog on the TV-free life I lead, but not yet.

Here's an excerpt I like from Andy Crouch's article in Christianity Today:

"There was violence and disintegration in the day of Jesus, too. Jesus was hardly shy about confronting the patterns of sin in his culture—though he was consistently harder on the pious than he was on the pagans.

But everywhere Jesus went, life blossomed. The sick were healed, lepers were touched, daughters and sons were plucked from the mouth of the grave. Jesus left behind him a trail of leaps and laughter, reunited families, and terrific wine, as well as dumbfounded synagogue leaders, uneasy monarchs, and sleepless procurators. His witness against violence, amidst a culture in rebellion against the good, was neither withdrawal nor war. It was simply life: abundant, just, generous life. And, ultimately, a willingness to let the enemies of life do their worst, confident that even death could not extinguish the abundant life of God."

These words remind me that I don't want to be a warrior--instead, I have a better model, and I'd better start following.