America is still haunted by the ghost of Ronald Reagan's corruption [View all]

America is still haunted by the ghost of Ronald Reagan's corruption
For the last 40 years, it has been a slide down a slippery slope into authoritarianism and ignorance

By BRIAN KAREM
Columnist
PUBLISHED JUNE 20, 2024 9:29AM (EDT)


(Salon) America has always been corrupt.

A nation “discovered” by those seeking fame and fortune at any cost and colonized by religious fanatics who were kicked out of every decent country in Europe. When the early European settlers became entrenched on this continent, they displaced or killed indigenous people and brought with them enslaved human beings whose only sin was being born a different color than their captors.

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In short, America has always been caught between its ideals and its reality. As T.S. Eliot in his poem “The Hollow Men,” reminded us, “between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act falls the shadow.” The shadow is the difference between our darkest actions and desires and our belief in justice.

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The closest we’ve come, in my lifetime, to living up to our ideals was after Richard Nixon was hounded from office. In the Bicentennial year of our country, we spoke of togetherness. We listened to the same music. We all wore the same wide ties and platform shoes. We practiced civil rights. During the four years of the Jimmy Carter administration, no one burned records, there was no emphasis on banning books, and the Roe vs. Wade decision meant women were empowered to be responsible for their own healthcare. While Carter was a devout Christian, the Christian Nationalists ran for cover. Then came the dark times ushered in by Ronald Reagan and his allies Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch. ........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/06/20/america-is-still-haunted-by-the-ghost-of-ronald-reagans-corruption/