|
|
|
AdvertisementIs polarized politics good for anyone?Editor's note: Ken Root is away this week. This column has been re-published from its August 2007 appearance in High Plains Journal. A presidential election or a vacancy on the Supreme Court brings out our liberal or conservative stripes and causes many people to insist that the candidate or nominee align with their political views. The nine-member court has always gotten close scrutiny and may be faulted for being "antiquated." The court should be representative of America, but it has justices who have served so long that labeling them as "liberal" or "conservative" shows not their views but the change in our own. I wonder if we "boomers" have become the problem. Are we now too conservative or liberal for the good of the country? Let's look at ourselves, from our age of awareness to who we are today. If you came of age in the 1950s or the 1960s, you can remember your reaction to Elvis Presley or the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. If it was positive and made you feel excited, then you were a liberal-leaning person at that time. Our parents disliked or despised the beat, the culture and the hair and that gave a youthful sense of rebellion. The music of the 1960s was an indicator of tolerance and understanding and led to the breakdown of gender and racial barriers. The innocence of the Kennedy era was our first step toward becoming a caring, thinking and feeling society that America had not experienced through the Depression and World Wars of the first half of the century. Vietnam was the next measure of our political views. Although most rural people supported the war, there was no hesitancy to avoid military service or for parents to try to keep their children out of the war. Most of my friends in college joined guard units or utilized other connections to avoid the draft. I was let off the hook by two white doctors; it took me several years to figure out what happened, as I held a draft card that would have had me serve after all the women and children had been called up. Vietnam required a young man to give conscious thought to military conflict and the risking of one's life to support our freedom and values. Most of us would have done so willingly, but not then and not there. When Vietnam ended and the 1970s were rolling, our generation was the first to be openly promiscuous. I would say that male behavior did not change, but the advent of birth control allowed women to stop saying "no" and the age of "free love" emerged across America. Due to that behavior, our generation spread AIDS to the world. By the early 1980s, the party was winding down. Most of us were married by that time and raising children, so our first steps toward conservatism came with the election of Ronald Reagan and the farm recession. We suddenly realized that life was difficult and had risks. We began to pull back and change our thinking. Many became religious for the first time and charismatic behavior began to emerge. The move toward a more conformist lifestyle caused each of us to realize we were becoming our parents. It was sort of a bad feeling for me, as I knew I was of a generation that had been given so much latitude and opportunity; yet, I was conforming to the values of a society that I had resisted. It made me wonder if I was denying my youth and denouncing the character-shaping experiences of the 1960s and 1970s. I think I was my most conservative in the late 1980s, as I tried to be part of a corporate culture while taking on a father image for my teenage children. It was at this time, just about when Rush Limbaugh became a hot item on radio, that America polarized. The conservative leaning fell inward and the liberal viewpoint fell outward in fairly equal numbers. Liberal and moderate Americans elected Bill Clinton and seemingly energized the conservatives to organize and attack. The only major congressional "flush" of my lifetime happened in 1994 and the fight has been on, in Washington, D.C., ever since. Each side distrusts and fears the other. Hawks and doves sit and glare at each other. We vilify those we once admired and no political action is beyond consideration. In the Bush era, Texas Republicans got rid of Charlie Stenholm, not because he was a liberal congressman, but because he was a Democrat. Senators who would have been considered extremist in the 1980s are mainstream today. America works best from the middle--not from the margins. This country has enough enemies in the world without creating more at home. Isn't it time to stop moving away from our strengths? Is compromise still a viable option? If our founding fathers had been as belligerent and intractable as we are in the political climate of today, this country would never have been formed. History shows that the pendulum swings on political, moral and social issues. I hope it has reached its max and moves back toward logic, reason and tolerance. Editor's Note: This is Ken Root's 35th year as an agricultural reporter. He grew up on a small farm in central Oklahoma and started his career as a vocational agriculture teacher. He worked in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri as a broadcaster and was the original host of AgriTalk. He has also been the executive director of the National AgriChemical Retailers Association in Washington, D.C. and the National Association of Farm Broadcasters in Kansas City. Ken is now the lead farm broadcaster at WHO and WMT Radio based in Des Moines, Iowa. He has been a columnist for HPJ and Midwest Ag Journal for eight years. Advertisement
1
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
Market Snapshot Inside Futures |
60977