If you were 15 years old or younger in 1980, you have been subjected...

kentuck

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Sun Jun-06-04 09:33 AM
Original message

If you were 15 years old or younger in 1980, you have been subjected...

to more than two decades of propaganda to tear down what hard-working Americans, mostly Democrats, had fought for since at least the Great Depression. You cannot be held responsible for all the thoughts that were formed in your minds and formulated in your political life. You accepted much of it as fact, when actually, it was the beginning of the propaganda period, even before the advent of Rush Limbaugh and talk radio.

This modern propaganda period started with the political assassination of Jimmy Carter. Oil prices had shot up, just like today, and no different from today, and prices of other products shot up. It was called inflation. It was not a permanent situation because Jimmy Carter had a plan to stabilize the energy markets - which was the plan Reagan used during the 1980's.

But Reagan and the new "conservatives" intimidated the media and the "liberals". They did not know how to react to their attacks.
The high interest rates, created by the Federal Reserve and Paul Volcker, were used as political bullets against Jimmy Carter and they were successful in their campaign. It was partisan politics like neither the Democrats or Republicans had ever seen before. But it was to the Republicans advantage so they accepted it as good. If the shoe had been on the other foot, no doubt the Democrats would have accepted the political advantage, also. Unfortunately, it was a political advantage that was detrimental to most middle-class and working Americans.

One of the first acts of the new Reagan Administration was to bust the Air Traffic Controllers Union. For those that were 15 years and younger, they did not have a historical reference to what that meant. There was fear at the workplace. People were afraid of leaving their jobs - afraid they may never find another. Just like today, some might say. Yes, but it wasn't always that way. There used to be a freedom in the job markets. If you didn't like your present job, you could always find another. The young generation cannot understand what that meant because they have no historical reference.

Much of the new propaganda period was led by the religious right. Ths was before talk radio, as I noted. People like Pat Robertson and the Rev Jim Baker espoused the new conservative ideology on televison, unlike any other time in our history. Reagan jumped on the bandwagon with his anti-abortion speeches and a new political movement was born. In the process, liberals became evil "baby-killers". That was the type of division spread by the new "conservatives". It worked for them.

Their weakest point was in their economic theories, which are being played once again by George W Bush. Reagan's VP, George Bush Sr was elected over the Democrat, Michael Dukakis in 1988 - one of the first times in our nation's history that a VP had succeeded his president.
The social agenda propaganda continued but the economic crisis of huge deficits faced Bush Sr in the election of 1992 and Bill Clinton, a Democrat, defeated him and the new propaganda period was stalled. However, the youngsters had aged and became full-fledged activists in the new Republican Party. They destroyed Bill Clinton in the media but the Democrats fought back. Clinton was re-elected in 1996 and was later impeached by the partisan Republicans. We all know what happened in 2000.

It is important that young people, now 39 years old and younger, realize what and how history has evolved in propaganda since their youth or since they have been born. Ronald Reagan was the beginning of the divisivness we now see and experience everyday. George W Bush is the progeny of Ronald Reagan - not George and Barbara Bush.