Posted by doninisrael (other posts) on May 23, 2017 at 05:35:15 Previous Next
In Reply to: Re: Long Hair and Politics, Again! posted by Long Hair In Albany on May 23, 2017 at 05:03:35:
LHIA, you and I are going to have to meet one day and "save the world" over a few beers. It will be fun! That said, I disagree with you on this. I think it's the opposite. And in explaining why, I realize I'm going WAY off topic for this forum...although I guess we already have. :-)
Dennis Prager tells it better than me, plus he had already come of age when JFK was President, whereas I was but a snot-nosed kid. But Prager tells of how he idolized POTUS 35 (JFK) and modeled his political views after those of the man. And in the 1960's he considered himself a 'liberal.' Prager continues by saying that his views today are almost exactly the same as they were back then. But now, someone with that list of views is considered 'conservative,' and can feel at home only in the Republican Party.
Obviously, such labels are subjective and what defines them shifts with time. But those who hold the same kinds of positions that were considered 'liberal' then are considered 'conservative' now. Now regarding Reagan, I'm not sure I agree or disagree with you. But without getting too specific, I'll remind you that many. many Republicans feared a Trump candidacy because "he's no conservative," and yet they rallied behind him (okay, maybe not the Bushes or Kasich) as they considered his brand of "evil" to be less onerous than that of Hillary Clinton.
I imagine that a Ronald Reagan, running against a Hillary Clinton or a Jimmy Carter, would rally the Republicans again.
Jake, perhaps you've hit the nail on the head in that such affectations as long hair on men and rock music are not considered as rebellious as they once were. Perhaps, despite that longhaired men are still a distinct minority, our affectation is less a rebellion against authority than - as Anthony in France has made an articulate case for - a wish to reclaim a more 'civilized' age that has passed us by.
Rock on, brothers!
Don