October 13, 2009 08:00 AM
Cries of “socialism”, “communism”, “Marxism” and the like have become commonplace as we watch the ascendancy of Barack Obama to power with his Democratic supermajority of 256 representatives and 60 senators. Though I have only experienced the coming of age of one generation in my 23 years, I am perplexed when elders claim how tough times are today. “The government is out of control, our civil liberties are threatened, and the American way of life is under attack!” they say. I am not so sure current events warrant all the outcry.
Are our memories so short as a nation? Throughout our more than 200-years, each of our generations has had to face tough times, but through each of these, we prevailed. For history’s sake, let’s put our present day turmoil in the context of prior struggles.
The most dramatic and devastating of these crises was the Civil War; a scar in our nation’s history that took the lives of some 650,000 people and pitted brother against brother. The crisis was brewing from the birth of the United States not a century before, but was worsened with the Missouri Compromise of 1850, and later the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Today’s turmoil is no comparison.
During debates of the entry of free and slave states, South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner unconscious and bloody after Sumner insulted Brooks’ home state. The attack highlighted the increased polarization between the two factions that divided our nation for a century. Somehow, Rep Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s speech seems tame by comparison.
From the Civil War emerged the industrial revolution and the rebuilding of a nation. If we fast forward through the progressive and populist movements at the turn of the century, we bear witness to immense worker strikes brought down by force from armed federal troops.
Later came the “Greatest Generation” who lived through the Great Depression, a time when one in four Americans went without work, crop prices dropped some 60%, many Missourians struggled to survive, and there was a growing sense of hopelessness. In response to dire circumstances, Americans sought out a new direction, as they had so many times before, and elected Franklin Roosevelt to an unprecedented four terms in office.
Government grew in a way that had never before been seen, and included ambitious projects like Social Security, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Civilian Conservation Corps, public works and broad expansion in executive powers. A decade later, our nation was attacked, and rather than being asked to spend more and consume, consume, consume--we were asked by our government to make sacrifices.
In the 1940s, the Office of Price Administration was formed to set prices on commodities; rationing of products began on everyday household items like coffee, sugar, and dried foods. Americans were asked to serve their country, not just have their country serve them. Others, however, were required to do far more, such as the 120,000 Japanese who were forced from their homes, stripped of their livelihoods and sent to internment camps.
When American soldiers returned home in the 1950s from Europe, the Pacific and Korea, they saw a new country. As suburbs grew, cities decayed. There was a quiet revolution taking place that would rear its head in the 1960s. African-Americans, women and other minorities began to make their voices heard. Peaceful protests were often broken up with water hoses, attack dogs and police clubs. Our nation struggled with the loss of not one leader, but three within a decade.
Vietnam became a focal point for a country without a clear direction. Americans burned flags, draft cards and even their own cities. Many people began to ask “Why?” and “For What?” This legacy remains as young people continue to question what their leaders are doing for them.
At the dawn of the 1980s, Ronald Reagan said, “It’s morning again in America.” This foreshadowed his presidency and his willingness to take a gamble--to move our country forward out of difficult times. At the time, his policies were dramatic departures from what the country had known.
Protests still occur, as they always have and always will. Freedom of speech is alive and well, and I encourage everyone to make his or her voice heard. Whether we are opposed to ideas such as war, taxes, or torture, or in favor of ideas like universal healthcare, the death penalty, or religious tolerance, it’s necessary for us to reflect as a nation and put current events in perspective.
We now live in a 24-hour media cycle that encourages us to think of ourselves as a divided electorate, and to question each others' motives. Every year becomes an election year, every issue a wedge, and every word a weapon. Looking back at all we’ve been through as a nation, I propose that when we speak for our side with conviction, we may not be deeply divided, but evenly divided.
Stephen Eisele was an Obama delegate to the DNC last year, and works in Springfield, Missouri as a political consultant.
I am perplexed when elders claim how tough times are today. “The government is out of control, our civil liberties are threatened, and the American way of life is under attack!” they say. I am not so sure.
