The Left's fronts in the Culture War are becoming ridiculous! Attacking Times New Roman because it has its roots in the Court of Charlemagne! (This Blog uses Georgia, which is similar to Times New Roman.)
From The Imaginative Conservative
By John Horvat
A profound Christian influence in small things still lingers despite these brutal and atheistic times. Those who defend tradition must fight tooth and nail to defend what is still Christian in the present culture, wherever it is found—even in fonts.
As the Culture War rages, no field is exempt from its reach. Much has been printed about this intense battle for the American soul. Now, even the fonts used for printing have become a battlefield. It is no longer what you read, but how it appears, that is contested.
A font war has erupted between Times New Roman and Calibri, representing right and left, respectively.
Some people think such issues are unimportant or at least culturally neutral. Nothing could be further from the truth. Culture encompasses everything that constitutes the daily life of people. Embedded inside things are principles, impressions, and historical context. Everything, no matter how small, can have an impact on the soul.
The Left’s Font Offensive
The left often recognizes this fact more than the right. It pushes its agenda through fashion, art, and styles.
Indeed, the left triggered the font war during the Biden Administration when in 2023, the State Department abruptly changed the font of its documents from the stately Times New Roman to the more austere Calibri, sans adornments or serifs.
This simple font change took on woke overtones when officials claimed that “some research” suggests that people with dyslexia or visual impairments have difficulty reading the oppressive Times New Roman font on screens. In the name of universal accessibility, leftists demanded the font shift so that information could be made inclusive. They further claimed the font looked outdated.
An Ideological Aversion
It must be said that many different font styles exist and each serves a purpose and conveys a message. Not everything should be Times New Roman.
However, Times New Roman is appropriate. The issue goes much deeper than just preferences. The left always promotes an egalitarian outlook that races toward the lowest common denominator in its culture.
Thus, the formality of Times New Roman and its professional look clashed with the left’s proletarian ideals. Leftists naturally prefer the informality and severity of unadorned letters, which is consistent with their materialistic thinking.
The left certainly knows the value of these slight cultural modifications. It is always ready to implement them because it recognizes that all culture is important.
A Counter-Offensive
The Trump Administration recently restored Times New Roman to State Department documents. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the change would “restore decorum” and aesthetics to official communications.
Indeed, Times New Roman is perceived as a serious and formal font. It gives an air of professionalism and authority to texts. This impression is precisely what government documents need to be effective.
The left’s egalitarian metaphysics, however, sees traditional authority as oppressive. Professionalism presupposes a superiority in some field that makes others feel less able. Thus, the left welcomes any effort to break down inequality in social structures in favor of the “people.”
It is no surprise that the left would go after Times New Roman as yet one more symbol of oppression—and clearly state their ideological opposition.
A Wildly Popular Default Font
Curiously, leftists always claim to represent the interests of the marginalized when engaged in their fights against hierarchy. However, such policies often harm society as a whole, particularly the most vulnerable members, such as the poor.
In the case of the Times New Roman font, the typeface actually favors the overwhelming majority of readers or the “people.” The claim of less accessibility is false. Times New Roman is not an oppressive but a benevolent font. In fact, it is a wildly popular default font that makes reading more, not less, accessible for everyone.
The Role of the Serif
It is a serif font, which means that it has small “feet” at the ends of its letter strokes. These extensions help guide the reader’s eye through the text, enhancing readability and reducing fatigue, particularly in lengthy texts. The high contrast and distinct letter shapes help readers distinguish between similar characters, which might otherwise be confusing.
Originally commissioned by The Times of London in 1931, the font was also designed to be practical by condensing text to accommodate more content without sacrificing legibility or beauty. It succeeded fabulously and soon became the printing industry’s standard font. Even Windows and macOS adopted it as a default font.
Moreover, the font is beautiful. The serifs are pleasing to the eye. They adorn the text with unity and variety that do not tire the reader. The font lacks the crass utilitarian aspect that its sans-serif counterparts possess.
Indeed, the font does not oppress by its formality. It reassures the reader by offering something familiar yet uplifting, accessible yet distinctive, and functional yet attractive.
The Fruit of Christian Civilization
Christian civilization was full of small details (like fonts) that added beauty to life and uplifted the soul toward God.
The Roman family of fonts originated in the eighth and ninth centuries, when Charlemagne mandated a standardized lettering style to promote literacy across the medieval Holy Roman Empire. It introduced many lowercase letterforms still in use today. This serifed “Roman” typeface influenced the structure of today’s Times New Roman.
A profound Christian influence in small things still lingers despite these brutal and atheistic times. Those who defend tradition must fight tooth and nail to defend what is still Christian in the present culture, wherever it is found—even in fonts.
Thus, the font war rages. The left highlights how vital these small things are in the fight for the culture. Leftists take them seriously, and conservatives should side with Charlemagne.
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The featured image, uploaded by Myrabella, is a photograph, “Equestrian statue of Charlemagne, by Agostino Cornacchini (1725) — St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican.” This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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