Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

struggle4progress

(118,039 posts)
Mon Feb 3, 2020, 12:11 AM Feb 2020

LBJ's example

Opinion by Melody C. Barnes and Julian E. Zelizer
Updated 9:18 PM ET, Sun February 2, 2020

... When Johnson delivered his Great Society speech on May 22, 1964, at the University of Michigan, he called Americans to a higher purpose. In the midst of social convulsions and divisions unseen in modern America, Johnson offered a vision of American freedom born of our bedrock values -- tolerance, pluralism and the rule of law -- and he challenged Americans to extend the benefits and responsibilities of those values to everyone, expanding our notion of American citizenship.

Johnson's argument was simple: For America to fulfill its purpose, it needed to expand its definition of freedom to include all Americans, and in so doing build a country where actual economic opportunity might, for the first time, accompany that freedom.

The policy outcomes of Johnson's clarion call remain unprecedented. The Great Society guaranteed health care coverage to the elderly and the medically indigent, ended legally sanctioned segregation, and made it possible for millions of younger Americans to attend colleges and universities, often for the first time in their families' history ...

While many conservatives continue to argue the Great Society constituted a massive failure, the programs created a basic floor of rights and benefits that most Americans now consider part of the fundamental fabric of our nation. Even as detractors raged against the changes taking hold, those on the left and right built on Johnson's foundation. Richard Nixon's Environmental Protection Agency was the fruit of Johnson's environmental protection legislation. Tea Party activists holding up signs that read "Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare" as they opposed President Obama's Affordable Care Act proposal was a significant expression of acceptance on the right of the basic premise of the Great Society ...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/02/opinions/lbj-great-society-solution-to-trump-barnes-zelizer/index.html

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»LBJ's example