Anyone born after 1995 would have no memory of the Iraq war or of the events of the recent past. Many Baby Boomers are not very clear about much of our recent history. We are forced to focus our attention on the current news cycle. The big picture tends to get ignored and forgotten. It is informative to review the history that is rarely ever discussed.
The Big Change
Generation Z, and others, are unaware that the Republican party today is much different from the party of the 20th century. For the entirety of American history, the parties had great differences but always compromised in the best interest of the American people. Nobody could have imagined the extreme polarization of politics today. For example, many of those who worked in the Trump administration were surprised at how little Trump really understood or cared about the issues. His only concerns were his popularity and politics. What happened to cause this major change?
After World War II
The world was shocked to learn that large numbers of people can be led to believe the most absurd nonsense if it is constantly repeated by all the media. To insure this never happened in the
Republicans opposed the fairness regulation from the first day it was adopted. They tried to repeal this regulation many times. Republicans prefer to be able to say anything they want without being held accountable. Eventually, with Republican Ronald Reagan
Conservatives and Liberals
The Internet generation has little understanding of what the words
DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS
Conservative
[k uh n-sur-v uh-tiv] adjective
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: a conservative suit.
4. of or relating to the Conservative party.
5. having the power or tendency to conserve or preserve.
Liberal [lib-er-uh l, lib-r uh l] adjective
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism, especially the freedom of the individual and government guarantees of individual rights and liberties.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression - a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. relating to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant; liberal attitude toward foreigners
Liberals welcome new ideas. They accept and embrace changes that benefit the
History
We have not always had Republicans and Democrats. However, the world has always had conservatives and liberals. The old conservative monarchies
The
MAJOR
Women's right to vote
Freedom to sell alcohol (after it was outlawed)
Public education for everyone
Fairness in Broadcasting (1949 - 1987)
Declaration of Independence from Britain
Separation of church and state
Child labor outlawed
Emancipation Proclamation--end of slavery
Medicare
Freedom of same-sex marriages
Social Security
Monopolies outlawed
Freedom to use marijuana
1957 Civil Rights Act
Affordable Care Act
Worker - Management agreements
- 40-hour work week
- Living wages
- Employer health insurance
- Work breaks
- Extra pay for overtime hours
- Equal opportunity for all races, genders, ethnicities
- Protection from sexual harassment and inequality
- Pension plans
- Termination and discipline justification procedures
- Paid vacations
- Workers' rights
- Safe food and drugs - FDA
- Seat belts, catalytic converters, air bags
- Potable water & breathable air - EPA
- Consumer Financial Protections - CFPB
Health Care
In 1948 Great Britain became the first country to introduce universal health care to its
Over the years, universal health care was proposed several times. But every time the issue came up, Republicans fought to suppress it. They incorrectly claimed that universal health care provided unacceptable service to the citizens. However, surveys have always shown that people with universal health care are much more satisfied with their health care than people in the USA are.
The biggest cause of bankruptcies in the US is the exorbitant cost of our profit-driven health-care system. Every phase of our health care is burdened with enormous multimillion-dollar CEO compensation and with an extremely complex cost-coding system. Hospitals must deal with 30 different insurance companies and with cost codes that require a year of training for the clerical staff. The Government Accountability Office concluded "If we could get administrative costs of our medical system down to the Canadian level, the money saved would be enough to pay for health care for all Americans who are uninsured."
After Obamacare was passed, Republicans were finally forced into proposing an alternative. But their proposal did very little to actually provide health care to Americans and was voted down. In 2003 the Medicare Prescription Drug bill was being prepared by Republicans. Although Republicans always touted free markets, their drug bill actually prohibited the free market in Medicare drugs. To this day we still do not have free-market pricing of Medicare drugs. The free market will be restored when Democrats have enough votes to repeal the Republican law.
The Economy
The history of the economy is another major issue that has been displaced by the overwhelming flood of current events. It is not only Generation Z that is unfamiliar with the overall economy of the past 60 years. Very few Americans of any age realize that the economy does better under Democrats. Every metric of the economy has consistently done better under Democrats. The economy is always a major concern and yet very few people are aware of the fact that Democrats have done a much better job of managing every aspect of the economy.
Some theories for the economic failures of Republicans are the following
The Republican Governor of Kansas, Sam Brownback, implemented the Republican economic ideas in 2012. Soon the entire State of Kansas was in a disastrous economic depression. All the Republican economic policies had to be repealed in 2017 to save the State of Kansas. For more information on these issues, see the book "The Liberal Record - How Liberals Changed the World" by Marcelo Brazzi.