I came of age in the late 60s and early 70s. The period roughly from the assassination of JFK on November 22, 1963 to the resignation of Richard Nixon on August 9, 1974 was the twentieth century’s equivalent of the Civil War, minus the armies and battles. Forces on the left, bolstered by an aggressive Kremlin/KGB strategy, became the bulwark of anti-Americanism in almost every facet of American life. The Weathermen, SDS, “Hell no we won’t go!”, Walter Conkrite calling the Tet victory a defeat, the tragedy of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam.
I have been trying to put those amazing times in perspective in an effort to compare my memory of it with our current political life. The comparison is eerily similar, except for the fact that today’s left is, if you can believe it, more dangerous and more hell-bent on our destruction. Our blog friend Jim from Galveston has a superb piece called “Leftzbollah” (and the follow-up piece “Thanks, Dad”)that analyzes the current crop of America-haters and why (at least in my opinion) they are a clear and present danger to the United States.
I was born in ’66 but I remember the hatred of Nixon, especially during Watergate. The vibe is similar. I think it may be worse than then. But I believe, despite the disapproval ratings, that a silent majority of Americans does not hate with the same vitriol of the extreme left in this country. One can criticize and still be rational about it. The extreme left in this country has gone mad.
Off-topic:
The NYTimes, in a moment of lucidity, has discovered that the people of Cuba want change.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/weekinreview/06depalma.html
I went to High School with the writer of the New York Times that wrote this article, Anthony De Palma. He is married to a cuban that also went to the same high school and that also graduated with us in 1970. He is an excellent writer, impartial as a newsman should be, has travelled extensively throughout Latin America including Cuba.
I correspond via e-mail with him from time to time and I have read his books which are well written and meticulously researched. IMHO he is one of the good guys.
He has applied for a visa to return to Cuba but in light of recent rejections of visas by the regime for foreign correspondents, it is probably unlikely that he will be able to go. But if he does, you can count on Anthony to do a credible job and report exactly as he sees it without any ideaological coloring.
Liberals hated Nixon in the 60’s and 70’s, they hated Reagan even more in the 80’s and they hate Bush more than both Nixon and Reagan combined.
They have gotten much stronger over the years using fronts to cover their true agenda from the ignorant and well meaning masses. Groups like the Sierra Club, PeTA and the United Way use their “intended purpose” as a ploy to get monetary donations from people and in turn, use the money to spread hate speech and poison. Not to mention billionaires like Goerge Soros and his MoveOn organization that donates a lot of money to hardline leftists and puts socialists like Ned Lamont up for US Senate against one of the few good Democrats left On Capitol Hill in Joseph Lieberman.
The hardcore left attempts to get people to believe that that they are for the poor and beaten down who feel oppressed just as Fidel Castro did when he was gaining support to overthrow Batista. As we know, once Castro assumed control of Cuba he betrayed virtually everybody he claimed to fight for. It turned out that Fidel Castro was fighting for one man and that man was Fidel Castro.
While I’m not Cuban I have a few Cuban friends who have told me stories and from what I can ascertain from them is that the vast majority of Cuban exiles are conservatives because they refuse to fall prey to the rhetoric of someone who appears to be a “well intentioned leftist” ever again.
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Right on the money, Dino. When fidel sings Ave Maria while on the back of a flying pig headed towards Oz, then, and only then, will I vote for a Dem again.
Dino,
You are right on the money. The far left know their true ideology will never be accepted on its own merits after being rejected over and over again.
They now use deception,fronts, out-right lies and distortion of history to further their cause.
Respectfully dudes, it wasn’t only libs who hated Nixon. Everybody hated him. He wasn’t a likeable dude and that was too bad. He was a damn good president who enacted a lot of the laws that keep our air and water safe. He was the only man with the credibility to deal with the Chinese. But he was a paranoid as hell and did not have the charm of a Reagan.
Nixon did get duped by fidel though when he met with him at the end of Ike’s term.
Except for that one little detail, the Left should LOVE Nixon. Dealt the final blow to the gold standard. Rapprochement with Red China. Price controls. Wage controls. Got the US out of Viet Nam. EPA. OSHA. Jeesh.