{"id":10665,"date":"2017-10-16T12:45:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T19:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=10665"},"modified":"2017-10-16T12:46:46","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T19:46:46","slug":"its-1968-all-over-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/its-1968-all-over-again\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s 1968 All Over Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ National Review<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The United States and the world appear to be reliving the language, politics, and global instability of 1968.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Almost a half-century ago, in 1968, the United States seemed to be falling apart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Vietnam War, a bitter and close presidential election, antiwar protests, racial riots, political assassinations, terrorism, and a recession looming on the horizon left the country divided between a loud radical minority and a silent conservative majority.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The United States avoided a civil war. But America suffered a collective psychological depression, civil unrest, defeat in Vietnam, and assorted disasters for the next decade \u2014 until the election of a once-polarizing Ronald Reagan ushered in five consecutive presidential terms of relative bipartisan calm and prosperity from 1981 to 2001.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It appears as if 2017 might be another 1968. Recent traumatic hurricanes seem to reflect the country\u2019s human turmoil.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After the polarizing Obama presidency and the contested election of Donald Trump, the country is once again split in two. But this time the divide is far deeper, both ideologically and geographically \u2014 and more 50\/50, with the two liberal coasts pitted against red-state America in between.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Century-old mute stone statues are torn down in the dead of night, apparently on the theory that by attacking the Confederate dead, the lives of the living might improve.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All the old standbys of American life seem to be eroding. The National Football League is imploding as it devolves into a political circus. Multimillionaire players refuse to stand for the national anthem, turning off millions of fans whose former loyalties paid their salaries.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Politics \u2014 or rather a progressive hatred of the provocative Donald Trump \u2014 permeates almost every nook and cranny of popular culture.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The new allegiance of the media, late-night television, stand-up comedy, Hollywood, professional sports, and universities is committed to liberal sermonizing. Politically correct obscenity and vulgarity among celebrities and entertainers are a substitute for talent, even as Hollywood is wracked by sexual-harassment scandals and other perversities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The smears \u201cracist,\u201d \u201cfascist,\u201d \u201cwhite privilege,\u201d and \u201cNazi\u201d \u2014 like \u201cCommie\u201d of the 1950s \u2014 are so overused as to become meaningless. There is now less free speech on campus than during the McCarthy era of the early 1950s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As was the case in 1968, the world abroad is also falling apart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The European Union, model of the future, is unraveling. The EU has been paralyzed by the exit of Great Britain, the divide between Spain and Catalonia, the bankruptcy of Mediterranean nation members, insidious terrorist attacks in major European cities, and the onslaught of millions of immigrants \u2014 mostly young, male, and Muslim \u2014 from the war-torn Middle East. Germany is once again becoming imperious, but this time insidiously by means other than arms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The failed state of North Korea claims that it has nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching America\u2019s West Coast \u2014 and apparently wants some sort of bribe not to launch them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Iran is likely to follow the North Korea nuclear trajectory. In the meantime, its new Shiite hegemony in the Middle East is feeding on the carcasses of Syria and Iraq.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is the chaos of 2017 a catharsis \u2014 a necessary and long overdue purge of dangerous and neglected pathologies? Will the bedlam within the United States descend into more nihilism or offer a remedy to the status quo that had divided and nearly bankrupted the country?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is the problem too much democracy, as the volatile and fickle mob runs roughshod over establishment experts and experienced bureaucrats? Or is the crisis too little democracy, as populists strive to dethrone a scandal-plagued, anti-democratic, incompetent, and overrated entrenched elite?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Neither traditional political party has any answers. Democrats are being overwhelmed by the identity politics and socialism of progressives. Republicans are torn asunder between upstart populist nationalists and the calcified establishment status quo.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yet for all the social instability and media hysteria, life in the United States quietly seems to be getting better. The economy is growing. Unemployment and inflation remain low. The stock market and middle-class incomes are up. Business and consumer confidence are high. Corporate profits are up. Energy production has expanded. The border with Mexico is being enforced.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is the instability less a symptom that America is falling apart and more a sign that the loud conventional wisdom of the past \u2014 about the benefits of a globalized economy, the insignificance of national borders, and the importance of identity politics \u2014 is drawing to a close, along with the careers of those who profited from it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the past, any crisis that did not destroy the United States ended up making it stronger. But for now, the fight grows over which is more toxic \u2014 the chronic statist malady that was eating away the country, or the new populist medicine deemed necessary to cure it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ National Review   The United States and the world appear to be reliving the language, politics, and global instability of 1968.   Almost a half-century ago, in 1968, the United States seemed to be falling apart.   The Vietnam War, a bitter and close presidential election, antiwar protests, racial riots, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1135,1092,120,46,1,339],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-2M1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11307,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-origins-of-our-second-civil-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":10665,"position":0},"title":"The Origins of Our Second Civil War","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ National Review How, when, and why has the United States now arrived at the brink of a veritable civil war? Almost every cultural and social institution \u2014 universities, the public schools, the NFL, the Oscars, the Tonys, the Grammys, late-night television, public restaurants, coffee shops, movies,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Donald Trump"","block_context":{"text":"Donald Trump","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/donald-trump\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10128,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/will-2020-be-another-1972-for-democrats\/","url_meta":{"origin":10665,"position":1},"title":"Will 2020 Be Another 1972 for Democrats?","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson\/\/National Review Going hard to the left was the wrong lesson to learn from their narrow loss in 1968, and they could repeat the mistake. Forty-nine years ago, Vice President Hubert Humphrey was the Democratic candidate for president. 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On her current book tour, Hillary Clinton is still blaming the Russians (among others) for her unexpected defeat in last year\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "George W. Bush"","block_context":{"text":"George W. Bush","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/george-w-bush\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11711,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-continued-resilience-of-quiet-america\/","url_meta":{"origin":10665,"position":3},"title":"The Continued Resilience of Quiet America","author":"victorhanson","date":"March 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ American Greatness Fifty years ago, the United States was facing crises and unrest on multiple fronts. Some predicted that internal chaos and revolution would unravel the nation. The 1969 Vietnam War protests on the UC Berkeley campus turned so violent that National Guard helicopters indiscriminately sprayed\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3970,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/irans-nuclear-scorpion\/","url_meta":{"origin":10665,"position":4},"title":"Iran’s Nuclear Scorpion","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services Why did the United States suddenly reverse course and agree to negotiate directly with the Iranians over their development of a nuclear arsenal? There are a few reasons. It's an election year, and the Bush administration knows the American public is in no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "June 2006"","block_context":{"text":"June 2006","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2006\/june-2006\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4186,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/democratic-implosion\/","url_meta":{"origin":10665,"position":5},"title":"Democratic Implosion","author":"victorhanson","date":"December 9, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Can the party of the people be saved from itself? by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online The idea that we are going to win this war is an idea that unfortunately is just plain wrong. \u2014 Howard Dean And there is no reason\u2026 that young American soldiers need to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "December 2005"","block_context":{"text":"December 2005","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2005\/december-2005\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10665"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10665"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10667,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10665\/revisions\/10667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}