Echoes from the past

LARRY ANDERSON
Larry Anderson

The late, great Yogi Berra said it best years ago: “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

As redundant as Yogi’s observation was, it is certainly applicable to the political situation we see hatching in this election cycle; that is, the Left’s recall of past political adventures in the hope for success now. If strategy can be linked to argument, then perhaps Hillary can sweep into office.

The era most closely conjoined to what we see unfolding now is one the Left views as a highlight in their determined march to socialism. That period approximates 1964-75.

The aforementioned era was marked by growth in government, first in the Johnson administration’s Great Society, during which social programs such as Medicare and welfare were established, then by the liberal-like Nixon administration which added government agencies and bureaus at a time when we seemed able to afford them.

Now we have them and deep deficit spending.

Nixon, for one, gave us the EPA, an agency designed to protect, but is now a politicized mechanism for control and suffocation.

Today, we have a pro-growth-in-government president who hammered through ObamaCare for philosophical and political reasons. We now have a forced bureaucratic healthcare system that has exploded in cost and will steadily become the god to which the ill must answer.

Wide growth in government then; the same now.

The aforementioned historical period was replete with radicalism of the Left as revealed through destructive demonstrations, contempt for authority, and attacks on American traditions.

We’re seeing the same things today as the Left tries to resurrect its relevance, validate Obama, and set the table for HRC.

Said era was marked by nihilism, narcissism, and the suffocation and abuse of democratic principles.

The current profusion of Leftist propaganda is identical.

Please don’t believe everything you see in the news is spontaneous or that every cause is legitimate. Much of this is agitation brought about by trained and dedicated enemies of all things American.

The goal is to do as much damage as possible while pointing a finger at causes other than themselves.

You can decide which finger that is.

Remember Occupy Wall Street?

In the 1960s, the country witnessed the rise of such radical groups as the Black Panthers and the Weather Underground. If you would like to know the true nature of the Panthers, I suggest you read the works of David Horowitz, a once radical, now conservative intellectual who was personally involved in the rise of the movement.

Today, we have Black Lives Matter, a seemingly more legitimate concern, but I see some of the same tactics being employed now as once demonstrated by the Panthers: demands, shout downs, disruptions, and an insistence on dispensation.

All are behaviors embraced by the extreme Left and taught.

It remains to be seen how far this group will go, but know Hillary Clinton has paid homage and embraced their cause, as if she really has an understanding of their social experiences.

Some is theatrical if not amusing; all is political by design.

The 1960s to early 1970s were marked by student protests, sit-ins, takeovers, and much emphasis on all the wrongs done to them by bad ol’ America. One might aptly compare the recent behavior at the University of Missouri to past conduct.

Then it was hip to attack the so-called “establishment.” The same thing is going on now; indeed, that is much of what the Obama administration has been about. The “establishment” is white folks.

The 1960s gave rise to the age of drug abuse. Today, there is a general acceptance of drugs, and the legalization of pot has occurred in several states where federal enforcement has been absolved.

This is a reflection of the liberal-driven attitudes of the past. Drop out, don’t contribute, get high. Don’t recognize inconvenient authority.

Surely, you don’t think pro-drug interests will be content with the legalization of marijuana. If so, you don’t understand progressivism, old or modern.

The age past gave birth to radical feminism and the legitimizing of abortion. Today, we see scorn for the unborn and a general indifference to the sanctity of life. Men have been marginalized, too, in the “struggle.” Dads are now optional within the liberal mindset.

Now we see Clinton doing her best to call forth again “The War on Women,” as if nothing has changed in 50 years.

Indeed, when it comes to the Left, little has, as evidenced by behavior based partly on a pathetic nostalgia but mostly on destruction and intolerance.

Larry W. Anderson’s novel, I, Eugenius, is available at the Daily Forum.