{"id":15782,"date":"2016-08-29T19:09:22","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T02:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.struat.com\/election\/?p=15782"},"modified":"2016-08-29T19:09:22","modified_gmt":"2016-08-30T02:09:22","slug":"1968-and-2016-differences-on-which-was-harsher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.struat.com\/election\/2016\/08\/29\/1968-and-2016-differences-on-which-was-harsher\/","title":{"rendered":"1968 and 2016 — differences on which was harsher"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest Washington Monthly posited twice on the differences between the tumultuous paranoia political currents for the years 1968 and 2016.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s like this<\/a>…<\/p>\n

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Despite Donald Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aspiration to re-create 1968\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s law-and-order election (with Trump cast in the unflattering role of Richard Nixon), the violent crime rate isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doubling, as it did during the 1960s; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s halved over the past two decades. When we look back on 1968, we understand that its tumult was mostly a reaction to large and abrupt shifts in societal arrangements concerning race, sexuality, and deference to any sort of authority.<\/em><\/p>\n

The current year is quite different. Americans are worried not about sudden disruptions but about problems of long standing like wage stagnation, growing income inequality, Islamist terrorism, easy access to military-style firearms, and police brutality. The only really rapid change has been in social acceptance of homosexuals and, now, transgenders, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be very surprised if LGBT issues play much of a role in the general election; Trump just doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel comfortable discussing them. Otherwise, the issues that voters are worked up about aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t new. People don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel scared so much as fed up.<\/em><\/p>\n

But still…<\/a><\/p>\n