It would be wrong to attribute the present state of our former republic to Ronald Reagan. Reagan did not start the republic's decline into imperial corruption, he just helped to shift it into high gear. But those of us who remember pre-Reagan America--an imperfect place, without question--cannot help but remark how Reagan's two terms in office changed the atmosphere of our civil society. By "changed" I mean poisoned. Our political process was not only flooded with money--there was nothing new about that--but the imperial presidency became the latest outlet for Hollywood's dream factory. Madison Avenue took over. The B-movie actor Reagan was emblematic of the transition. Real participatory democracy--which had already been on the ropes since the debacle of George McGovern's ill-fated Presidential bid in 1972 and Ted Kennedy's ill-fated challenge to Jimmy Carter in 1980--fled the scene. What took its place was collective self-delusion about a "new morning" in America. And the Democratic Party, in its final betrayal of the American people, signed on.
I say its "final betrayal" not because it was the Party's last betrayal, but because it was the Party's ultimate one.
Look no farther than the Presidency of Barack Obama. From what I hear, Obama reads biographies of Reagan and holds him up as his hero.
First time as tragedy, second time as farce.
No comments:
Post a Comment