I’ve been doing a bit of reading and listening lately.
One piece of media I’ve been consuming is NPR’s Buried Truths podcast, which explores black voter suppression in Georgia in the 1940s, particularly the elections of 1946 and 1948. I’m haunted by the similarities between the politics of that period, and what we’re seeing in our national politics and attitudes today. The voices of Eugene and Herman Talmadge echo much of what we’re hearing today from our elected administration. The public acceptance of hatred in both periods is truly stunning.
Then I read Miranda Carter’s piece in the New Yorker about Kaiser Wilhelm, What Happens When a Bad-Tempered, Distractible Doofus Runs an Empire? I’ll let you read it and draw your own conclusions, but it’s not hard to see parallels to the current administration.
Doing a little research, I came across Attorney General Jeff Sessions praising the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 as good law. In case you don’t feel like following the link, the Johnson-Reed act limited immigration by national origin and completely barred immigrants from Asia. It’s one of the most blatantly racist pieces of legislation ever written.
After all of this, I had to do some research on tariffs. Tariffs haven’t been considered to be productive since the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930, which started a disastrous trade war. It ignores the economic fact that each individual actor will act for its own good, and trade will be restricted or liberalized to the extent that each party is willing. I won’t dig into the argument about whether Smoot-Hawley prolonged the Great Depression, but let’s just say that things got better after it was repealed in 1934.
Overall, however, what I want to point out is this – the latest date I mention in this examination of history and the current administration is 1948 – seventy years ago. Do we want our national policies to reflect the attitudes of 70 years ago or more?
The latest date I mention in this examination of history and the current administration is 1948. Do we want our national policies to reflect the attitudes of 70 years ago or more? Click To TweetYou figure it out.