Will a Liberal Backlash ever come?

I used to think the right wing extremists, especially socially conservative people, would die off soon enough, but in the last 7 years I have decided I am very wrong. Moving to the mid south has convinced me these sort of conservatives are here to stay for a long while.

I think you should be careful that you don’t have a bout of hypertension over this, after all, us boomers, we do need to take care of our heart health now that we have crossed the bridge from sex, drugs and rock-n-roll to extra calcium and viagra. lol
Meh….I don’t think any generation will have the chutzpah of the boomers. We were the revolutionaries, for better and for worse. A hard act to follow.

Here, this happy brownie is for you, make love not war. lol

If you mean a leftist (not liberal) backlash, OWS is probably instructive about what’s wrong. The people involved had the right ideas, but the wrong execution and a lot of terribly naive assumptions. There wasn’t really a previous generation of anti-authoritarian activists to teach them technique, as there is in Europe – it’s why the protests are bigger and generally more successful in Europe. Assuming the police aren’t going to break their own rules and employ brutality – and get away with it – is naive. In many larger European demonstrations, police use crowd control but mostly keep the hell back because the crowd (a) knows it outnumbers the police and (b) isn’t afraid to hit back.

Ignorance tends to prevent unrest. Many people are ignorant. Therefore, I don’t see any real backlash coming.

When my generation was protesting the Vietnam war, I was in Vietnam. When my generation were fighting for civil rights despite a person’s color, I was thrown out of a “human relations” training course because I told them it was a waste of my time. Despite my opposition, we ended the Vietnam War and most people aren’t oppressed anymore than the rest of us.

I am read now to join the cause. I have heard enough idiotic Tea Party garbage, I’ve had enough listening to Ron Paul start off with sensible suggestions then drifting into the Ayn Rand garbage dump. Does anyone know where a 65 year potential revolutionary can find a job opposing the neo-con, neo-nazi, dirtbags? I would like to do some real good before I get too old to walk a picket line!.

@Ron_C May I suggest: Working Families Party
They often parallel the Democratic party in terms of nominees/candidates but not always. They break in a populist/non-corporate direction in all the cases where I’ve seen a difference.

A revival is coming. I predict that it will come from the same place this right wing craziness came from. The Churches.
I look at the popularity of thechristianleft.org , http://www.patheos.com/Progressive-Christian and The Wild Goose Festival and I see that the tide might be changing. Many Christians in the younger generation see the hypocrisy of their parents belief system and are looking for a way to express the core values of charity and justice that Jesus taught. In 10 years they will be a driving force.

I hope not. That would tend to put them on an equal douche level as conservatives.

@jerv . . . That is only if the needs of the ignorant are being met. You know, let them eat cake and all that shit.

It will come eventually. Looking at American history, and with little faith in the American political machine, it’s bound to happen at some point (happens with both parties, though the “right” seems to get it more often).

I take heart in the same ideas that @Judi expresses above. We saw the wheels go flat on the ConMan bandwagon in this past election. I think you’ll see the wheels fall off that bandwagon in the next decade, driven by changing demographics and the increasing insanity of the far right.

….....Well, that was an interesting rant.

@JLeslie: I get that feeling too while living in similar communities. However, it would be the first time in American history that there wasn’t a backlash from one extreme to the other.

@Coloma & @cheebdragon: No hypertension here. I certainly didn’t mean to come off ranting. Just asking the question while trying to jog a few memories. Thanks for the Tokla, goosegirl.

@bolwerk: Yes, Leftist if you insist, but we all weren’t Weathermen. Agree with you about OWS and Europe as well. I wonder what spring will bring.

@jerv: Historically they don’t stay ignorant, they get fed up with the cake and become radicalized. I hope you are wrong, my friend.

@Ron_C: Right, I remember a bit of your personal history wiring those damned Riverine boats in the Mekong. My brother was on one of those and I thank you. About Rand: if enough of those god-fearing, gay-hating so-called conservatives who spew her perverted poitical ideals actually took the time to look into her personal life, they would be shocked out of their thin vanilla skins. Haha. With the new laws and Free Speech Zones, I’m not sure public demonstrations are not really the way to go about it these days. Do some real good. It’s hard to forget person who makes a personal connection while helping you out in a disaster.

@dabbler: Thanks for the link. I’ve never heard of them before. Very helpful.

@Judi: Thanks for the links. Been following your questions and answers and I’m glad you’re here on Fluther.

@Blondesion: No. I don’t agree. I think the Right will do most of the damage to themselves and the Left will simply continue to point out their idiocy until things finally come to a head. You don’t have to become an asshole to fight assholes. As much as it seems like it sometimes, this isn’t all-out war. It just takes time.

@Jussange: I agree completely. Welcome to Fluther.

@ETpro: Been waiting for you. I’m betting that you’re right.

Thanks for answering everybody.

@Espiritus_Corvus I just saw some “ad” on my TV for the news I think saying something about taking God out of government and some caption about the innaugural address. Very recently there was a big to do about taking prayer out of the local Memphis government. I would say if we keep pushing these sort of things the backlash will be from the religious right, not the other way around.

@Espiritus_Corvus As do I. I wish I had a nickel for every time I have been sad to be right though. For instance, I got laughed at back in ‘90 when I said that invading Iraq would become a Vietnam-style nightmare because it’s a different type of warfare that we are not accustomed to (IEDs, suicide bombers, logistics issues, unfamiliar environment and culture….), and going to Afghanistan would teach us why the Soviets left. Flash forward a decade, and, well….

I an aware that there will eventually be some sort of swing to the left, but it’s a slow pendulum and I am past the middle of my life expectancy, so if things get radical, I doubt it will be in my lifetime. And I think that the results of the last election have pushed it back further, since we seem to be returning close enough to center to prevent major unrest; it just doesn’t seen like that because the internet allows people to be heard without marching in the streets like they had to fifty years ago.

@JLeslie “Those sort of things…” are the US Constitution. It’s served us well enough to be worth pushing, if you ask me.

@ETpro Believe me I am all for separation of church and state, but the only thing I am very worried about is young children being indoctrinized, so no prayer in school, no mandatory religious education in public school it something I would fight hard for. I was in NC a couple weekends ago and a friend of mine told me the schools can’t teach religion so now they call it ancient history and teach it. WTF?! That drives me crazy. The president saying God Bless America or having some clergy do some sort of prayer is not going to influence my kids and family much (if I had any kids) so I can ignore it even though I think it is very wrong. It is not worth the backlash. I am conflicted on the whole thing, but that is where I come down at present date. I might change my mind in the future, who knows.

@JLeslie If they honestly teach history of religion, which covers all major religions, that’s perfectly legitimate. If they teach only the Judeo-Christian heritage, then the courts would probably rule that unconstitutional if it were challenged.

@ETpro It’s just a Christianity class. I asked if it was a comparitive religion class, even if just the Abrahamic religions, and it isn’t. If it is mandatory I am against it even if it is comparitive religion. If it is an elective I am ok with it no matter which type of class it is as ling as it is labeled a religion class.

@JLeslie If appealed to Federal Court, such a requirement would almost certainly be struck down. I can well imagine that those of other faiths and agnostics/atheists object to their tax dollars being used to indoctrinate their kids in a religious system other than theirs.

@ETpro It does amaze me these things are not challenged. Where I live they teach the bible as literature. Bothers me. If I had a child I would do something about it, but since I don’t I haven’t bothered. Call me lazy or passive; I figure eventually there will be enough diversity that will go away. If there isn’t any diversity then whatever, the families are teaching Christianisty to theor kids anyway. However, the woman I was speaking to, she is a Sinday school teacher at her church, she is methodist, very religious, and she agreed with me that she thinks a class should be acurately titled, and in fact does not want religion class left up to the public schools.

Plus, I think it will be much better if Christians come out against the class and not atheists or Jews.