Something I haven't really talked about yet. The money. Can't really talk about crime without first talking about money. Most crime is socio-economic in nature. Rapists rape... those guys are crazy... probably have some inner subconscious propensity to do evil, and should be castrated... but we're not talking about that guy. We're talking about the mugger, the house robber, the car thief, the shoplifter, the drug dealer... crimes that revolve around the pursuit of money.
When I think of money and American History, I like to go to the World War 2 generation. "The greatest generation" as some like to refer to them, and as far as patriotism and EVERYONE getting involved and doing their fair share, its hard to argue against them. But I've already blogged about the World War 2 generation. (Feel free to check past blogs for that and other interesting articles! C'mon... Im overdue a shameless plug!) What I want to talk about is how the (original) GI Bill changed America. The greatest thing about America, pre-George W. Bush, was its freedom. Indeed, the Statue of Liberty, the gift from France says, send me your tired masses, yearning to be set free. And those included economic freedoms as well. Its always taken money to make money, so a true "financial ascencion" is not possible for most people, but there was no caste system (for whites) telling you what you could and couldn't do with your life. You could work at the factory, or work at the drive-in. It was your choice. Harry S Truman was the son of a farmer from small town Missouri! There was a small upper class, there was a small middle class... and a larger working class.
[This isn't the topic, but let me throw out a "another reason I dont like Republicanism" by saying that the rich are rich because of inequality against the poor. They will never willingly relinquish it... small government doesn't work, in terms of protecting the poor economically, and its only through government intervention that you see the rise of the middle class.]
Under (Democratic president) FDR, the size of the government greatly expanded. We were still suffering from the Depression of the 30's and FDR and the federal governtment were creating all types of big government programs to help will us out of the economic misfortune. Perhaps the most important big government financial legislation passed was the original GI Bill. It could be the single biggest contributor to the "golden age" of the 1950's. Its when a large chunk of the white working class were given their first real chance to take a real step upwards to financial comfort. The single most important part of wealth building is home ownership and the GI Bill helped a lot of people do that. Here are the most important tenants of the GI Bill, which was granted to all (white) servicemen who served during World War 2. First was a free college education; the second was a low to no money down on your mortgage down payment; and the final portion was a low interest rate for your home. Not only giving people a free education to get better jobs, but to make it far easier than it had ever been for large segments of the populace to own a home.
(it should also be noted that, today, John McCain is against a new GI Bill, which would attempt to re-expand benefits to troops, benefits that were greatly shrunk for Korean and Vietnam vets)
Another thing to remember... there was a draft in the 1940's. We have a volunteer army today, but during World War 2, the American army numbered in the MILLIONS (of troops). Its been said that, if you include the immediate families of all the troops that served during World War 2, that approximately one third of the United States population benefited directly from the legislation. Now, thats is BIG government at its largest. But, who can deny the financial benefits of passing that legislationt?
Who indeed. Another fact of American history: during the single biggest government intervention on behalf of the socio-economic well-being of its citizens, African-Americans (again) were largely left out. There were some successes to be had, but largely, we were left out. Those, who served bravely with their white soldiers in battle in Europe and Japan, like the Tuskegee Airmen (click here) and if you dont know... you better ask somebody came home to the same social injustice and bigotry that they left behind. Blacks in the 1950's were not allowed to go to the same schools as whites (Plessy v. Ferguson: upholds segregation)... blacks in the 1950's were not allowed to live in the same neighborhoods as middle class whites... and blacks in the 1950's were not getting loans with the same frequency or at the same interest rate as whites. So, while lower class white Americans, were allowed to get free university educations and move out to the suburbs, their African-American counterparts would be relegated to the inner cities. And as blacks became larger percentages of the inner cities, the more white Americans felt the need to flee. The practice, which began in the 1950's, is even recognized as a real term by Webster's.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=white+flight
I just can't emphasize enough how important the GI Bill was to making America what it became. About 1/3 of the entire nation's population was picked up. Extraordinary. As Europe spent the 1950's rebuilding after the decimation of the war... America became the Super Power. Nations that prosper economically tend to have strong middle classes, which is why I'm vehemently against (Communist) countries that keep everything staterun. You become powerful (economically) when wealth is distributed to the people. And the late 1940's were when America reached out to an ENORMOUS portion of its general populace. I think leaving African-Americans out of this social program, is probably the single biggest factor in the economic disparities we still see to this day. Its just my opinion, but I can not stress that enough.
We've seen the methodical plan of influencing white perception of African-Americans in various incarnations. Even with pipe cleaner? Sheeesh. We've seen black self-esteem broken, early and often, as generation after generation of slaves grew up knowing nothing of their history, other than brutal servitude to someone who told them that everything about them was ugly, and looked different enough to cause the slaves to believe it. We've seen the humanity of African American slaves debated. (3/5's?) We've even seen purposeful government disenfranchisement, meant to keep the African-American as a economic second class citizen. But, we haven't even mentioned Jim Crow.
Without going into the history of the name, simply put, Jim Crow laws... which were on the books in a lot Southern states... explicitly legalized discrimination that was already being practiced. Some may say, whats the difference? Injustice is injustice. And while that is true, I would imagine, there would be something a little more damaging to the psyche to know that your government has OFFICIALLY come out and said... "it is legally within a white man's rights to discriminate against you." If you want to eat in a restaurant, you eat in the back, and thats only if the restaurant is in an area that really needs your business. Because there were a lot of signs that said... "white only." Spreading freedom in Europe and Asia, and unabashedly denying it here. Drinking from your separate dirty water fountain... getting your food to go... riding on the back of the public busses... and of most importance... being denied the ability to go to the same schools.
Education is the great equalizer. An intelligent man is an asset to those around him. He can have doors opened that otherwise would not be afforded to him. So, the black kids that have grown up in this nation... have grown up... generation upon generation... with a second class educational system. Less funding... less supplies... lower qualified... lower paid teachers. This was the law. Black kids would not be able to get the same type of education that a lot of whites would get. I'm not going to say that all whites went to great schools, because, obviously thats not the case, but of those who had access to great schooling... those kids were white. Just like one could not be a critical thinker & say that most white people have money. But, of those who do have money, the overwhelming majority of them are white. So, its not to deny the existence of a white LOWER class, but to question the demographical makeup of the middle to upper class of this country, and to question how that new class of Americans were formed. Everyone (I sincerely HOPE) knows the story of the first attempts at desegregation. The governor of Arkansas was so against allowing black children to learn with whites, he was prepared to use force! The national guard got involved. (click here) Just think about that. The elected governor, who should be representing the best interest of all his citizens, was so vociferously against allowing black children to sit in the same classroom as white children and learn... that he was prepared to use physical confrontation to stop it. The governor. Governor George Wallace was another one. Yeah... um... this is astounding... but for a lot of previous generations of blacks... these were just regular occurences.
One of the biggest moments of the civil rights movement, was Lyndon B Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964. (click here) John F Kennedy made promises about the bill, but he was unable to get around a Democrat filibuster in the Senate. Yes... a Democrat filibuster. Not so liberal, eh? Neither of the major parties were jumping to tackle the issue, but the Civil Rights movement did push on Kennedy. Back in those days, the Democrats dominated the Southern states (yeah, sounds crazy to me too) and it were Southern conservative Democrats who were vehemently against the civil rights movement. Through much finageling, and a "brave" speech at the Democratic convention, where LBJ basically walked into the "lion's den" of sorts, and told his fellow Southern Democrats... we aren't going to do this anymore, he was finally able to convince enough Senators to support (or at least not filibuster) the bill. But LBJ knew there would be consequences. Big ones. He, himself, said that the Democrats would lose the South, which essentially meant... he believed a lot of Southern whites would change their party affiliations... solely because LBJ thought it was immoral to deny blacks rights? I dont know about that Lyndon. Thats a bit much... surely, you can give Americans more credit than that. Right? *gulp* Right? what would the Southerners... do...? Hmmmmmm...
Those are the 1960, 1964, and 1968 elections... respectively. JFK carried the bible belt. But in 1964, it seems that Goldwater got a big portion... and in 1968, Nixon took portions, and the independent (Governor George Wallace) who ran on a pro-segregation platform, took other Southern States. He was the third party candidate, running aginst civil rights in 1968, and he took 5 states. He's the last 3rd party candidate to win a state. He took 5. Five. Running in the heart of the Democrats... with an anti-integration platform. Hmmmm... and in 1972, (Republican) Nixon won every state, other than the district of Columbia... and Massachusetts. I can't say its anti-war, because, though LBJ took us in, even upon re-election, Richard Nixon was against surrender. Hmmmm... what... caused the political shift... cleary it can't be civil rights... it would be absurd that the entire political landscape would shift because of giving more people freedom. So... you know... that CAN'T be the problem. I'll have to meditate on it. I'll have to get back to you on that topic. Because, it would be too scary if all these states left the Democrats because they supported African American freedoms. Hmmm...
Martin Luther King, Jr once said that all white are racist... either implicitly or explicitly, and... even for the 1960's... I would like to not believe that. I will say, however... though I'll never know the truth when it comes to older white Americans... still, I sometimes wonder what they truly thought about the racial issue 40 and 50 years ago, back when it wasn't taboo to be openly racist. There are lots of video from the time period... and there weren't just 10 or 15 people here and there protesting integration... these were LARGE groups of people. In the streets... openly and vehemently protesting equality for African-Americans and other groups. Again, that was just those bold enough to speak about it openly. How many more felt the same but didn't want to speak so boldly about it? If you are white... can you say for certain, that your parents... or grandparents didn't harbor racist views on African-Americans? Scary thought... in my opinion.
(Part V: The Conclusion - where we are today & where we go from here)
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