A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 13
Many people remember the 1950's with a fond nostalgia. They think of the Fifties as a version of the television show Happy Days. Television shows from the time such as Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best show well-adjusted and white middle class families thriving in the post-war era.
Rock and roll music gained popularity with talents such as Elvin Presley, Buddy Holly, and Rick Nelson among the most prominent entertainers.
But racism still prevailed. The Cold War was a very real and present danger. The economy stalled and went into recession. In 1960 the U. S. government was caught in a lie when U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Russia.
The seeds for dramatic foreign policy maneuvers were planted during the Eisenhower administration. We first started military involvement in Vietnam. It was a small involvement at first. President Kennedy inherited the situation and sent around 16,000 "advisers." After Kennedy's death, Vietnam became a major military involvement and one of the worst foreign policy debacles in United States history.
The planning for the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba was also started during the Eisenhower years.
There was the infamous "Kitchen Debate" in 1959 between Richard Nixon, who represented the wonders of capitalism, and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, who proclaimed the virtues of the communist system. Khrushchev had warned in 1956 that, "we will bury you."
Although Senator Joseph McCarthy was repudiated, the charge of being "soft on communism" was still a potent weapon used by right-wingers. It was part of the thought process that ultimately led to the major calamity in Vietnam.
More to come
Thursday, October 31, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 12
President Eisenhower was a Republican and would probably be considered much too liberal in today's Republican party. Eisenhower didn't set out to destroy the New Deal programs that had proven both popular and successful. He was responsible for building an interstate highway system that made travel much easier across the country.
Eisenhower,probably reluctantly, used the National Guard to enforce desegregation in Arkansas after the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Topeka decision. The Court declared that the doctrine of "separate but equal" was unconstitutional.
Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus was defiant. Faubus ordered National Guardsmen to block the entry of African-American students to Little Rock's Central High School. Faubus used the blatantly transparent lie that it was necessary to prevent mob violence. But Eisenhower successfully enforced the Supreme Court's decision.
The tensions of the Cold War were always a concern. The Soviet Union upstaged the United States in 1957 with the launch of its Sputnik satellite and aroused concern that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union technologically and scientifically.
The Eisenhower years were also marked by economic recessions, which have been consistent with Republican administrations.
More to come
President Eisenhower was a Republican and would probably be considered much too liberal in today's Republican party. Eisenhower didn't set out to destroy the New Deal programs that had proven both popular and successful. He was responsible for building an interstate highway system that made travel much easier across the country.
Eisenhower,probably reluctantly, used the National Guard to enforce desegregation in Arkansas after the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Topeka decision. The Court declared that the doctrine of "separate but equal" was unconstitutional.
Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus was defiant. Faubus ordered National Guardsmen to block the entry of African-American students to Little Rock's Central High School. Faubus used the blatantly transparent lie that it was necessary to prevent mob violence. But Eisenhower successfully enforced the Supreme Court's decision.
The tensions of the Cold War were always a concern. The Soviet Union upstaged the United States in 1957 with the launch of its Sputnik satellite and aroused concern that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union technologically and scientifically.
The Eisenhower years were also marked by economic recessions, which have been consistent with Republican administrations.
More to come
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 11
President Truman surprisingly won reelection in 1948 and then we entered the fearful and paranoid 1950's.
We found ourselves in another war in Korea, although it technically was a United Nations effort to stop Communists from overrunning South Korea. General MacArthur, hero of the Second World War, was fired by President Truman for what amounted to insubordination and made his famous statement, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."
Another World War II hero, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, was nominated by the Republican Party to run for president. Richard M. Nixon was his running mate. Nixon, caught up in the first major scandal of his career, made his famous "Checkers" speech and told us about Pat Nixon's cloth coat.
Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson and moved into the White House.
Anti-communism was a prime talking point for Republicans. Richard Nixon vaulted his career in his pursuit of Alger Hiss, who was accused of being a Communist. Hiss was convicted on a perjury charge and sentenced to prison.
One of the most infamous politicians in U. S. history, Joseph McCarthy, put the Communist threat or perceived threat on the national agenda. McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin, made wild charges implying that Communists had infiltrated the highest levels of the U. S. government. McCarthy and others were responsible for blacklists of Americans who had been convicted of nothing, but were suspected of being Communists. They frequently lost their livelihoods and their reputations thanks to the Communist witch hunt launched by McCarthy.
More to come
President Truman surprisingly won reelection in 1948 and then we entered the fearful and paranoid 1950's.
We found ourselves in another war in Korea, although it technically was a United Nations effort to stop Communists from overrunning South Korea. General MacArthur, hero of the Second World War, was fired by President Truman for what amounted to insubordination and made his famous statement, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."
Another World War II hero, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, was nominated by the Republican Party to run for president. Richard M. Nixon was his running mate. Nixon, caught up in the first major scandal of his career, made his famous "Checkers" speech and told us about Pat Nixon's cloth coat.
Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson and moved into the White House.
Anti-communism was a prime talking point for Republicans. Richard Nixon vaulted his career in his pursuit of Alger Hiss, who was accused of being a Communist. Hiss was convicted on a perjury charge and sentenced to prison.
One of the most infamous politicians in U. S. history, Joseph McCarthy, put the Communist threat or perceived threat on the national agenda. McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin, made wild charges implying that Communists had infiltrated the highest levels of the U. S. government. McCarthy and others were responsible for blacklists of Americans who had been convicted of nothing, but were suspected of being Communists. They frequently lost their livelihoods and their reputations thanks to the Communist witch hunt launched by McCarthy.
More to come
Sunday, October 27, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 10
We entered a totally new world at the end of the Second World War. Two atomic bombs had been dropped on Japan and there was no turning back from the nuclear age.
Europe was in ruins. We discovered the horrors of the Holocaust. The Soviet Union, formerly an ally, became an enemy.
Harry Truman carried on in the tradition of FDR with his "Fair Deal." The United States faced the daunting and happy prospect of reintegrating millions of returning military veterans into the economy. Women had broken through barriers during the war when "Rosie the Riveter" symbolized women in the workforce.
The United States funded the Marshall Plan, one of the most ingenious examples of foreign policy in our history.
Berlin became a symbol of the Cold War that was to endure for decades. Fear of communism reinvigorated the right wing in the United States and paved the way for the paranoid and fearful 1950's.
More to come
We entered a totally new world at the end of the Second World War. Two atomic bombs had been dropped on Japan and there was no turning back from the nuclear age.
Europe was in ruins. We discovered the horrors of the Holocaust. The Soviet Union, formerly an ally, became an enemy.
Harry Truman carried on in the tradition of FDR with his "Fair Deal." The United States faced the daunting and happy prospect of reintegrating millions of returning military veterans into the economy. Women had broken through barriers during the war when "Rosie the Riveter" symbolized women in the workforce.
The United States funded the Marshall Plan, one of the most ingenious examples of foreign policy in our history.
Berlin became a symbol of the Cold War that was to endure for decades. Fear of communism reinvigorated the right wing in the United States and paved the way for the paranoid and fearful 1950's.
More to come
Friday, October 25, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 9
FDR asked for a Declaration of War against Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Congress agreed. Then we were also at war against the other Axis powers, the Germans and Italians.
It must have been a difficult time for right-wingers. They hated "that man" in the White House. But the country had been attacked and there was no question we had to fight a war. Of course, down through the years there have been several rather stupid conspiracy theories that FDR somehow allowed the attack to occur. I think it's ludicrous. An attack by the Japanese would, in and of itself, constitute a case for war. We didn't have to let the Pacific fleet be disabled and leave the West Coast open for possible invasion to justify a war against Japan. If it was a conspiracy, it has to be one of the strangest in history.
Right-wingers may not have been thrilled that the Soviet Union was a U. S. ally. But we probably wouldn't have won the war without the pressure the Soviets put on Germany. The war against the Soviet Union took manpower and resources that Hitler couldn't devote to other theaters of the war. The Russians suffered immensely in World War II and took horrific losses.
FDR died mere weeks before the war ended and Harry Truman became president.
More to come
FDR asked for a Declaration of War against Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Congress agreed. Then we were also at war against the other Axis powers, the Germans and Italians.
It must have been a difficult time for right-wingers. They hated "that man" in the White House. But the country had been attacked and there was no question we had to fight a war. Of course, down through the years there have been several rather stupid conspiracy theories that FDR somehow allowed the attack to occur. I think it's ludicrous. An attack by the Japanese would, in and of itself, constitute a case for war. We didn't have to let the Pacific fleet be disabled and leave the West Coast open for possible invasion to justify a war against Japan. If it was a conspiracy, it has to be one of the strangest in history.
Right-wingers may not have been thrilled that the Soviet Union was a U. S. ally. But we probably wouldn't have won the war without the pressure the Soviets put on Germany. The war against the Soviet Union took manpower and resources that Hitler couldn't devote to other theaters of the war. The Russians suffered immensely in World War II and took horrific losses.
FDR died mere weeks before the war ended and Harry Truman became president.
More to come
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 8
We've all probably seen those iconic photos from the 1930's showing unemployed people lined up at soup kitchens. We've heard about the Dust Bowl or read great novels like The Grapes of Wrath.
I'm glad that Franklin D. Roosevelt was willing to take on the job of being president and take on the monumental problems he faced. Not everything the New Deal tried worked, but many programs did. Thanks to FDR, we have Social Security. Right-wingers would like to destroy Social Security and let their fat cat friends on Wall Street have access to the money. If your investments go bad, then too bad. No pension for you, pal.
Even as the world endured the Great Depression, what Herman Wouk termed "the winds of war" were blowing. The world got a preview in the Spanish Civil War. The fascists waged war against the Republic of Spain. The fascists were backed by Nazi Germany and the Republican forces were backed by the Soviet Union.
Right-wingers in the United States were isolationists. They didn't want involvement in what they termed a European war. FDR saw the danger and tried to provide aid to our allies the best way he could. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese made U. S. involvement in the war inevitable.
More to come
We've all probably seen those iconic photos from the 1930's showing unemployed people lined up at soup kitchens. We've heard about the Dust Bowl or read great novels like The Grapes of Wrath.
I'm glad that Franklin D. Roosevelt was willing to take on the job of being president and take on the monumental problems he faced. Not everything the New Deal tried worked, but many programs did. Thanks to FDR, we have Social Security. Right-wingers would like to destroy Social Security and let their fat cat friends on Wall Street have access to the money. If your investments go bad, then too bad. No pension for you, pal.
Even as the world endured the Great Depression, what Herman Wouk termed "the winds of war" were blowing. The world got a preview in the Spanish Civil War. The fascists waged war against the Republic of Spain. The fascists were backed by Nazi Germany and the Republican forces were backed by the Soviet Union.
Right-wingers in the United States were isolationists. They didn't want involvement in what they termed a European war. FDR saw the danger and tried to provide aid to our allies the best way he could. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese made U. S. involvement in the war inevitable.
More to come
Monday, October 21, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 7
Republican Herbert Hoover followed Calvin Coolidge into the White House and inherited a booming economy.
But the stock market crashed in 1929 and set off the Great Depression. Hoover believed in a hands off approach from government, that the markets would right themselves, and that normalcy would return. But it didn't happen.
Historians Allan Nevins and Henry Steele Commager observe in A Pocket History of the United States: "In the case of the 1929 panic there were factors that led, clearly enough, to the collapse. In the first place, the productive capacity of the nation was greater than its capacity to consume. This was largely because too large a part of national income was going to a small percentage of the population who promptly turned it back into savings or investment, and not enough of the income to the labor, farmer, and white-collar classes upon whose continued ability to buy the whole business system rested." Disparity of wealth and income, concentration of wealth, and other similarities abound, don't they?
Republican Herbert Hoover followed Calvin Coolidge into the White House and inherited a booming economy.
But the stock market crashed in 1929 and set off the Great Depression. Hoover believed in a hands off approach from government, that the markets would right themselves, and that normalcy would return. But it didn't happen.
Historians Allan Nevins and Henry Steele Commager observe in A Pocket History of the United States: "In the case of the 1929 panic there were factors that led, clearly enough, to the collapse. In the first place, the productive capacity of the nation was greater than its capacity to consume. This was largely because too large a part of national income was going to a small percentage of the population who promptly turned it back into savings or investment, and not enough of the income to the labor, farmer, and white-collar classes upon whose continued ability to buy the whole business system rested." Disparity of wealth and income, concentration of wealth, and other similarities abound, don't they?
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