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Sometimes, I think that everything is connected. For example, after this morning's medical appointment, I stopped at an art store, to but some supplies for my children. By no coincidence, the supplies will assist them in a project that involves the publication of a book on some important connections in human cultures. As I was speaking to the owner of the store about local and global archaeology, we discovered that he had been my oldest sibling's art teacher in high school.
“The world is a very small place,” he noted. “And everything is connected.”
Sometimes, I've questioned if things that connect in my mind, make much of any sense to others. For example, recently one of my good friends on this forum posted something about a republican's claim about the political outlook of Martin Luther King, Jr., early on in the 1960 presidential election. Weeks later, and partly in response, I posted a brief H2O Man survey, asking what individuals or groups other members here believed were trustworthy, when it was most important. It's possible, of course, that if anyone has ventured this far, they might be wondering how these two things are connected? Or, is it merely an optical delusion in H2O Man's mind's eye?
I'll try to be brief.
In 1957, VP Nixon – with an eye on the 1960 election – was advocating for a civil rights bill. The Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson, favored the legislation, but recognized that it would be hard to get it passed, as proposed. Now, I'm going off memory, and so I'll try to keep it relatively simple. In the Democratic Party, there were numerous factions: liberals from the northeast; Dixiecrats; and others that have faded into obscurity.
Nixon was, of course, a strange fellow. He was of the opinion that different races and ethnic groups were of very different intellectual abilities; yet, he believed that a person was entitled to any job they were capable of doing, and should have the right to buy any product from a store, or home in any neighborhood, that they could afford. Thus, he backed the proposed bill.
However, one might suspect that Nixon recognized the bill could split the factions within the opposition party, harming LBJ, and helping Nixon's chances in 1960.
A third politician, Senator John F. Kennedy, did not have strong views on civil rights issues in 1957. His role in this part of the story was minor. Johnson was tasked with helping strip the proposed legislation of some important sections, that civil rights leaders felt were essential. LBJ took the position that passing part of a lesser bill was better than losing on a greater proposal. As a result, civil rights leaders, including Daddy King, not only came away with a positive view of Nixon, but were convinced that LBJ was an untrustworthy Texas wheeler and dealer.
When JFK picked LBJ in '60, several factions within the party were unhappy. Equally upset were most civil rights leaders, who believed that Kennedy showed promise. Again, briefly, after Martin Luther King, Jr., was incarcerated before the election, and the Kennedy brothers attempted to assist him, people like Daddy King came out in support of the democratic ticket.
As president, JFK had LBJ take positions that were aimed at helping blacks in gaining civil rights. Some were done quietly, but the civil rights leaders were familiar with LBJ's efforts to gain economic and voting rights advances. Before Dallas, a number of the more mainstream civil rights leaders had come to favor Johnson over Kennedy.
After Dallas, LBJ would advance many of the programs from the Kennedy efforts. He did it in a more public way. He knew that his actions risked a large split in the Democratic Party, and that as the 1964 election was on the horizon, it could lead to his defeat.
One of the things that has been largely forgotten – purposely so, in my opinion – is that LBJ took the intelligence reports from the FBI, CIA, and the military (for they were watching the civil rights movement for many years), and showed it to the leading racists from the south. He noted that they needed to update their thinking. The NAACP, which many had called a communist-influenced threat, was now a moderate group, Johnson showed them. CORE was actually centrist. The college students were moving to the left. And the Nation of Islam, and in particular Minister Malcolm X, were now not only the most radical of groups, but were gaining in influence at the fastest rate.
Thus, although not out of any sense of good-will, fairness, or respect for the Constitution, the racist democrats in Congress eased up their efforts to stop LBJ's efforts to promote civil rights, including those efforts aimed at “poverty” in general.
So, what does this have to do with my little survey? I thought that while DU is a relatively small group, it does reflect the views of the progressive/liberal democratic left. And, like across the country, many people here have expressed a lack of faith in the elected representatives in Washington. Some do not trust President Obama; most don't trust Congress; and none trust the Supreme Court. More, there is less belief that many/most of the formerly reliable groups are actually out for the average man or woman anymore.
Just as the move to the left by the grass roots in the civil rights movement helped LBJ get the rabid Washington “leaders” to stop fighting any and all progressive legislation, (and even moved some centrist civil rights leaders to ask, off the record, for the other groups to apply increased pressure on DC), the same dynamics can and should be applied today.
Thanks,
H2O Man
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