It seems more a celebration of American evil rather than an admission.
My theory: Gen Xers are the ones with money and power now.
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Rural America is a cesspool of toxic masculinity and misogyny and racism. The young people there have terrible politics.
Yeah, I think this is it. Kids headed to college, freaking out about money/retirement.
Yeah Reagan was a big part of my political awakening as a kid. His first election was the first time I really got plugged into politics. Also growing up in a fairly conservative household, I grew up being a conservative. I have long since left that behind, but I certainly understand how that era could have imprinted people. I assume most people develop their political identity at a young age, often influenced by family, and it never changes.
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The distribution of wealth by age always points up - the median Gen Xer has less money than the median older person. If thereâs a trend here itâs not that the Gen Xers have more money, itâs that they have more anxiety about money because their parentsâ generation has left them in the lurch with more expensive housing, more expensive health care, more expensive college educations for their kids, and more uncertain prospects for retirement income security.
So, capitalists
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My 65-year-old mother who is probably light blue at this time in her life (voted for Obama both times and I believe Kerry but not Gore) thinks Reagan was the greatest president of all time. And it all boils down to him âfreeing the hostagesâ. Nobody messed with the US when he was president unlike that pansy Jimmy Carter. Iâm too lazy and stupid to fight her on it
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My family had no political identity and I still feel like my political prospects were formed by being born in 1977 and growing up in the 1980s. The power of consumerism was a major driving force in my childhood - we hung out with friends at the mall, we literally loved our Walkmans, when my family could afford a Nintendo that was a seminal moment in my childhood. At that time, there was absolutely no perceived downside to consumerism - the more creature comforts you got, the more you felt like your family was achieving. There is still a lot of that in America, of course, but it all happens against a backdrop of scolding by talking heads about climate change and environmental destruction. In the 80s we didnât talk about those things, except for âacid rainâ which was a massive deal for some reason but was never tied to consumer behavior.
Some of those core beliefs were hard to shake. As I mentioned recently in another thread, I entered the workforce after university with some conservative ideas that were just perceived at the time as absolute common sense - capitalism is better than socialism, the point of work was to make money to attain a higher socioeconomic status, the workplace was a simple meritocracy, etc. The generation entering my company today donât agree with that stuff at all. On average, they think that unfettered capitalism is inherently flawed, that the point of work is feel like you have purpose and are affecting Real Change, and employers cannot be trusted to act fairly and they are to be pressured all the time to provide evidence of fairness. My company is starting to employ people that grew up in the 21st century and they look at the world very differently than I did 20 years ago.
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But of course, that is because the woke librul media is who controls the âfacts.â So of course Republican truths are considered âconspiracicesâ
Also the fact there is no hard evidence whatsoever of these conspiracies serves as proof that there has been a massive coverup.
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I managed to grow up in the 80âs knowing Reagan was a lying asshole war criminal. Thatcher too. That conservativism was ethically, morally, and intellectually bankrupt. That Ayn Rand was a clown. That consumerism was vapid. That we were destroying the environment for profit. That America was hopelessly corrupt. That greed was not actually good.
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They were already headed to the airport to fly to the US before Reagan even became president. Not that that would matter of course because reasons.
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I donât doubt it, but you definitely didnât learn any of that from the 6 oâclock news. All of those views would have been perceived as way outside the mainstream, with the possible exception of environmentalism. But even environmentalism was broadly seen as something that could be addressed without sacrificing consumerism. We watched the Transformers episode about acid rain, but no one was telling us to not buy as many plastic Transformers toys as we could.
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I talked to a couple from south Texas while I was on vacation. They said there wasnât anything out of the ordinary going on down there.
/anecdote
Might go in the deplorable family thread but since we are talking about it I guess it can go here. I was born in 81 so barely not gen x but growing up in that era the Reagan worship and rise of modern conservatism shaped my entire life.
My parents and grandparents were diehard Limbaugh (and later Hannity and Fox News) enthusiasts. They were hardcore right wingers protesting abortion clinics and the like. Itâs taken decades to try and deprogram myself. Itâs basically impossible to get out of the cult without a lot of effort because itâs not just your political beliefs but your entire social network as well. Quitting conservatism requires you to not just quit but leave your entire life because they are so intolerant that you wouldnât really be welcome anymore.
I just spent a few days with my parents. They are 70ish and I have had a firm no politics rule with them. They mostly adhere to it but the last day I was there they brought up teaching white kids how they are all racist, gay and trans and we got in a big blowup which resulted in me calling them bigots and leaving a day early.
All that to say Iâm sure lots of people probably choose to remain in the cult because itâs easier.
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Huh
Well thanks for setting me straight.
There is a good 4 part doc on HBO about it right now that I highly recommend.
How much suffering could have been averted if only John Hinckley was a better shotâŚ