Summary
The 1960s, known as the American golden age of political idealism, was marked by enormous victories for African Americans, women, and the poor. The need for the opposition party to remember this historical moment's political influence specifically in nurturing a narrow conception of opposition is emphasized.
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Extract
Goodbye to All That
WITH CONSERVATISM DOMINANT IN EVERY branch of government, it is clear that liberals are an opposition party. We have to think, act, and strategize like an opposition party. That means figuring out ways to articulate what we stand for while not alienating those who may disagree with us but can be persuaded to see things our way. That's a difficult balancing act. Of course, the postwar left has been in opposition before, and that's a historical fact that can be turned to advantage-there s a track record to examine and think through, and a set of political styles and strategies for change to reflect upon. Examining this history can mean recycling good ideas and tactics. But what if it means recycling bad ones?
No doubt, some progressives will be drawn to the protest movements of the 1960s to inspire opposition today. There are good reasons for this. The world that existed before the '60s is one that no one wants to go back to. The decade witnessed enormous victories for African Americans, women, and the poor. The civil-rights movement-with its pioneering use of nonviolent and grass-roots "direct action"-prompted these advances. It also gave birth to a new form of politics that championed the energy of ordinary citizens and that carried on within the peace movement s struggle against the Vietnam War. College students, through the teach-in movement, learned how to connect their learning to political engagement. The decade seemed a golden age of political idealism.Remembering the '60s as a time of heroic activism-when ordinary citizens changed the terms of politics-suggests we might be able to recycle those protest styles today. Younger activists are doing that as they march on Washington, against the Iraq War or in favor of abortion rights. The left is often identified, in the press and in popular imagination, as a series of marches. Protest ...See the full content of this document
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