A dinner conversation that's still bothering me.

[IndianaDave]

11. I believe everything changed with the presidency of Ronald Reagan -

We began to hear about "welfare queens," about unfair taxes on the wealthy, about the reclassification of ketchup as a "vegetable," so that we could use less of our "precious tax dollars" to the poor, and so forth. The overriding message was that poor people in general were just taking advantage of the system. Our well-established disposition to help those in need was challenged, and eventually found expression in legislation. In often indirect and subtle ways, Americans were told that poor people were lazy, had figured out a way to game the system, and had a propensity to "steal" from the rest of us. It was emphasized that those who were struggling COULD support themselves, but they just didn't WANT to. We were told that we had created a welfare state, which encouraged people to be lazy and unproductive. This message only slowly crept into our general way of thinking as a nation, but it did affect many people. And it has been strongly and repeatedly reinforced by almost all Republicans ever since.

I realize that I'm omitting a lot of detail, but this is my perception of the origins of this profound cultural change. Although Republicans generally regard Reagan as a saint, I'm convinced that he created a hateful and judgmental atmosphere in our country, and, effectively set us on a course that would diminish -and even destroy - America's sense of compassion. I apologize for the lack of greater detail, and for the generalizations, but I believe my assessment is accurate.