Extremism

It was next to impossible for any Republican to have won the l964 presidential election. In Barry Goldwater’s case his fate was sealed early at his party’s convention leading to the most one sided defeat in presidential history, by his saying that extremism in defense of liberty is not a vice. This was a matter of bad timing. Many Americans were still in shock from the assassination of John Kennedy less than a year earlier, a cut and dried act of extremism. Goldwater’s choice of words left a lot to be desired.

In light of his dedicated record of public service, there had to have been a point beyond which Goldwater would begin to see extremism a vice. My guess is that he might have approved of something similar to today’s tea bagger demonstrations, but not what took place on the Capitol steps the day of the health care vote. I’m certain his idea of tolerable extremism didn’t include terrorism, of which we are now experiencing text book examples by those who opposed the health care bill. The dictionary definition of terrorism specifies threats as well as action. In the words of the Bard of the Bronx “you could look it up.”

While 1964 was not a good year for promoting any kind of extremism this seems to be a vintage year. The nation is experiencing its worst and most prolonged financial distress since the Great Depression, during which we were closer to coming apart at the seams than any time since the Civil War. Our situation may have been worse in the 1930s than it is today. But high tech communication easily compensates for the difference. This is a time for cooler heads to prevail. Instead Republican leaders have been fanning the flames, evidenced by the “don’t tread on me” banners hung by congressmen outside the Capitol to encourage the crazies during the vote on health care.

The lumps inflicted by the system on our side in Bush v Gore are monumental compared to those taken by the other side by the passage of a piece of legislation of which they disapproved. Particularly in light of this discrepancy we can take some pride in the fact that we took ours with a hell of a lot more class.