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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThey don't just want to "stop" history --they want to erase it
Republicans aren't content to just "stop" history they want to erase decades of progress entirely
Book banning, forcing people into the closet, even childbirth death: The GOP can't wait to bring it all back
https://www.salon.com/2022/03/11/arent-content-to-just-stop-history-they-want-to-erase-decades-of-progress-entirely/
In 1955, William F. Buckley of the National Review famously defined his magazine's mission and that of conservatism broadly: To stand "athwart history, yelling 'Stop!'" The quote frequently gets romanticized, though it should not.
Buckley wrote his mission statement a mere month before the Montgomery bus boycott began and a year after Brown vs. the Board of Education was decided. He did not hide that the "radical social experimentation" he decried was desegregation. In the 21st century, however, conservatism which has become indistinguishable from Republicanism is no longer content with just trying to stop or slow down progress. Nowadays, Republicans are hellbent on re-litigating seemingly every battle they've lost over the decades. In some cases, over a century's worth of progress is being targeted for elimination.
They don't just want to "stop" history they want to erase it.
Indeed, that is what this "critical race theory" hoax that has the right all riled up is all about. Under the guise of battling "critical race theory" which is almost never taught in public schools Republicans are trying to ban books that cover the civil rights movement and intimidating history teachers into pretending the 50s and 60s never happened. Buckley may not have been able to "stop" the civil rights activists he loathed so much, but his Republican descendants are intent on hiding the fact that the movement for civil rights ever happened.
The book banning frenzy is just the tip of the iceberg, however. It's now clear that Republicans want to revive every political fight they've lost, going back at least to Buckley's time and, in some cases, even before it.
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SharonClark
(10,005 posts)right wing evangelical churches and are checking off their issues in the name of god and anti-communism / Marxism.
ProudMNDemocrat
(16,485 posts)Brown v. Board of Education(1954) Separate schools are not equal.
Engel v. Vitale(1962) School initiated prayer in public schools violates the 1st Amendment.
Miranda v. Arizona(1966) Police must inform suspects of their Constitutional Rights
U.S. v. Nixon(1974) The President is not above the law.
Obergefell v. Hodges(2015) Same Sex marriage was Constitutional.
Loving v. Viirginia(1967) Interracial marriage was Constitutional.
Just to name a few landmark cases that changed the course on Education, Marriage, Civil and Constitutional rights under law.
Chainfire
(17,308 posts)Couldn't we just "cleanse" the history, or "improve" the history. Make history something we can all be proud of. We don't need to dwell on ugly things like genocide or slavery, or admit that people with funny ideas about sexuality exist, we just need to teach sweet thoughts that make Jesus smile. Then we will have Made America Great Again.
brush
(53,475 posts)but they've got the racist police to do it for them now.
IbogaProject
(2,694 posts)A Republic is a best guess of a way to protect individual liberty proposed just under 2,400 years ago, by Plato.
These R-s are Regressives, they want to go deep back into the past, albeit with little understanding how weak civil rights were in the past and how precarious individual fortunes have been historically. They have nothing to offer and they are scared to compete and selfish about their taxes going to any one else. They fail to realize most of our problems stem from an uneven tax system that taxes work more than collecting investment returns. Another part of this is the economic disruption that our huge military system and spending has on both our country and worldwide.
wnylib
(21,146 posts)ificandream
(9,196 posts)They clearly are trying to re-start every fight they lost. And they've got a Supreme Court to help them. It's without saying that the next two elections will be hugely important. We need to win them. No doubt about it.
dajoki
(10,678 posts)and Goldwater for taking what the birchers and other fringe groups were doing into the mainstream of repub politics. They laid the groundwork for the GQP of today who are clearly on a path of destruction and will do whatever they could to overturn our hard earned rights.
Solly Mack
(90,740 posts)IngridsLittleAngel
(1,962 posts)And they would say "Take our country back!", I'd always reply "To what? The 1950's? 1900? 1850? 1800? The dark ages? 100,000 BC?"
Because that's exactly what they want to do. Roll back and remove every piece of progress, and then some.