What's with the Right Wing and the 60's

I don't know what the Right's problem with the 60's and the boomer generation is about. I truly respect Andrew Sullivan, and read his blog every day, but he has this thing about my generation and what he calls the resentments of the time.

I guess there's some truth to this, after all, it was my generation that pointed out that the right wing view of the world was wrong. That it was wrong about civil rights — so wrong that the right wingers turned to party of Lincoln into the party of the KKK. It was wrong about communists in the State Department — so wrong that McCarthy was censured and his greatest defender today is a hate monger that makes the haters of the 60's who said, "Those Kennedys ought to be shot" seem moderate.

But there was a sizable group in the sixties, in which I include myself, that believed that the time was one for spiritual enlightenment and a return to the values upon which this nation was founded. We were called hippies, we were called cultists, we were called every foul name that the haters could think of in an effort to sow fear in the minds of my parents generation. What we really were were conservatives.

Conservative and religious. But not politically so. We believed in the American Dream and thought that the conformity and fear based psychology of the 50's was wrong. We felt that religious enlightenment, perhaps aided by psychotropic chemicals, perhaps by meditation or chanting was the key to improving the lots of all people. So I wonder, what's the problem you have with us.

As far as I can tell, it's the WWII generation that's responsible for all that's screwed up in politics and government today. After all, all the presidents in my lifetime until Clinton were either the President during (Truman), the leader of (Eisenhower), heroes from (Kennedy and Bush I), in the military (Nixon) or powerful in the government during (LBJ) World War II.

There have only been two Boomer presidents. One, Bill Clinton, was the target of anti-government fanatics willing to do anything to overturn an election when one of those hated 60's folks (see above) won. These people, whether the billionaire publisher, Scaiff, or the corrupt right wing ideologue, Tom Delay, were traitors to all that the USA stands for, constitutional government and democracy. The next Boomer President is a leader and enabler of these same anti-democratic forces. So the two Boomer Presidents prove one thing: right wing extremists will destroy the country to achieve their delusional, paranoiac, theocratic agenda.

Sullivan and other conservative pundits wants to end the divisions of that we of the sixties generation supposedly created and foment today. He, like most conservatives, want liberals to change their behavior. He wants us to end the divisions of the 60's. Well, it's not our responsibility. It's the right's job. They're the ones who've raised the politics of hatred and vengeance to an art form. They're the ones who use wedge issues and division, preach fear and resentment in order to win elections.

Since the right wing's idea of compromise is that everyone subscribe to their policies of hatred and prejudice I see no reason why I, or anyone else of the liberal persuasion, should even think of being nice. Preachers of hate: your time is over.

And if you think that's too strong, wait a bit. The blog is titled "So Left I'm Right".

Generations

Remember: Clinton's only five years older than Obama's mother.

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Elsewhere in this post, one of Andrew's readers points out that the boomers wouldn't vote for Obama because he's younger than they are. Well, I'm Hillary's age and I might or might not vote for him, but not because of his age or race, but because I thought he would be the best nominee or best President. I might or might not vote for Hillary regardless of her age, gender or spouse.

See my next post on why this generational conflict concept is so dangerous to the future of America.

Update:
Andrew got it wrong - Obama's mother (Ann Dunham) was born in 1942, not 1952. An important difference as Hillary was born in 1947. Since Obama was born in 1961, Hillary would have been 13 or 14 when he was born.

I'm so far left I'm right

What the hell does that mean?

Mostly that I'm an extremist. In a couple of areas my political ideas are so far left that they've gone around the circle and they can be perceived as coming from the right. Or at least I've portrayed myself that way in the past.

Actually, I have political and cultural views that can be labeled as both left wing and right wing. Some of my views are from the center. I don't see how it can be helped.

Our political views come from emotional reactions to events to which we apply our intellects: intellects that have been trained by education, upbringing, family and friends, experience. This implies that for those with eclectic backgrounds and who have been truly exposed to our pluralistic society in the USA see the world with more gradations than those who live in more homogeneous environments.

This blog will contain my comments on the political scene, often with reference to the political and cultural blogs that I read daily. Sometimes I'll be liberal, sometimes conservative, sometimes libertarian, sometimes authoritarian. (I'll try and avoid the authoritarian.)

And perhaps, on occasion, I'll find the humor and irony in all the above.