It is true that it is well within your rights to argue with me online. My contention is that the surface narrative is dependent on the core beliefs of the majority of the American people. If people feel attacked in their core beliefs they will fight back, shut down the logic centers of their brain and stop listening.
When FDR enacted the New Deal it was a pragmatic and non-ideological response to the greatest economic challenge in the history of the nation to that point. He was hobbled by a Conservative Supreme Court. When at the urging of many on the left to pack it, he lost crucial support and was badly hurt in the 1938 midterms.
The Great Society, however, was built on the optimism and prosperity of the 1960s. The desire to honor Kennedy’s legacy was strong. Even so, LBJ was repudiated in 1966 at the polls. Once the post war boom faded into 1970s malaise the appetite for progressive reforms ebbed as well.
Reagan and his supporters attacked ALL democrats as being responsible for the economic challenges. The myths of the Reagan story line were accepted by too many people. At the same time the economy did boom for many and the Soviet Union collapsed. That was all the proof they needed.
The funny thing about this conversation is that we appear to want many of the same things, we disagree about tactics and history. I do believe there is an opening for much more progressive policies in the coming years and decades. The most fundamental problem is that the people who are doing reasonably well are terrified to lose what they have. The other problem is that “normalcy” as it is defined by Gen Xers like myself and boomers is built upon a massively unsustainable economic system that rapes the earth for short term profit. People need new myths and aspirations in life and the restoration of trust in the government before they will vote for massive systemic change.
There is a reason Biden won the nomination and a lot of it has to do with the support of Black women. It has been argued that they are more conservative than white progressives because they have more to lose by Republican hegemony. Given the last four years and forty years I cannot disagree with them.
Good luck with your struggles.
