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It took Jerry Falwell to get Newt Gingrich. Falwell started the culture war politics that defines every aspect of our system today.
I'm not sure that I would agree. The corrosive partisanship that Gingrich fathered is the vehicle through which right wing culture war politics is channeled. The left also had their own movement to change American culture in the 60s/70s. This all didn't affect the dynamics and collegial environment of Congress until a man named Newt had a plan to change it. It'll probably take another 9/11 type event to fix the corrosive partisanship, if only temporarily. The idea that Congress was always a cumbahyah love camp prior to Gingrich is false. Congress was "dirty" for most of American history. World War 2 and the Cold War brought about a sense of national unity and shared goals that only the cold calculation of Gingrich, all in the name of "winning", undid.
A lot to consider ...
Was it better to have segregation? Nope
Was it better to have Race Riots? The answer is undecided, we still have Race Riots, we don’t have MLK to bring Sanity.
Was it better to fear Socilists/Communiists and fight them? YES
Today they are in the US Congress and running for President ... Not Good
In the 60/70’s - the vast majority of US Citizens respected Law & Order, respected this Country and it’s Constitution. That is no longer the case.
Our definitions of what it means to be an American have devolved. The time periods can’t really be compared
The term “not in my lifetime†is changing rapidly.
Americans were more united back then even though the two parties still had differences. There wasn't violence between them, name calling threats and outright hatred between them for the most part. WTH happened?
Social media, and everybody that has an opinion has no qualms in posting it, or shouting it out anymore. Let's also not forget that news goes around the world in literally MINUTES now.
Prior to Nixon, Republicans and Democrats both agreed on the end goals, but had differences of opinion on how to achieve them, and they were able to debate as gentlemen and gentlewomen and compromise effectively to get there. They were all still friends and colleagues at the end of the day.
In my opinion, the political climate started going south when Kevin Philips created Nixon's Southern Strategy. He taught Harry Dent the art of divisive and corrosive politics, and Harry Dent taught Lee Atwater who trained Karl Rove. Their big stock in trade was false and misleading push polls adn whisper campaigns that never directly accused the opposition of anything, but planted doubt and raised questions where none should ever have existed. Strom Thurmond was at least a good, old fashioned outspoken racist who didn't beat around the bush about it, aligning himself with Lester Mattox and George Wallace.
All of them are dead now except for Philips and Rove, and much improved by it, but the art of nastiness and vicious politics that they honed to a razor edge lives on, exacerbated by the internet. Now that Pandora is out of the box, we will never be able to get her back in, I'm afraid.
Americans were more united back then even though the two parties still had differences. There wasn't violence between them, name calling threats and outright hatred between them for the most part. WTH happened?
LOL.
That's the most inaccurate comment ever. Especially if you lived in the South or you were African American. Not to mention McCarthyism, war in Southeast Asia, rioting, etc.
Unless you're hankering for the Father Knows Best or Leave It to Beaver mythology.
Last edited by silverkris; 03-08-2019 at 07:31 PM..
Invasions, WAR, political killings of prominent politicians, etc. etc. etc. It was awful.
Read and let each event sink in and think about it....it is some overwhelming at some point you just go numb.
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