For the past few weeks I have been deeply engaged in volumes one and three of Rick Perlstein's study of conservatism in America. Volume one, which I am 16 pages away from finishing examines the rise of the John Birch Society and their hand-picked 1964 Presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater.
Volume two focuses on the discontent that brought us to elect Richard Nixon two times. Volume three introduces us to the apotheosis of the rise of the Right--Ronald Reagan.
What's interesting about these books is that Perlstein talks about a political strain that's been with us forever. Radical conservatism might have been relatively dormant during the era of FDR and might have gone into remission during the gleaming days of Kennedy's Camelot, but it's always been with us.
Remember, FDR, perhaps the progenitor of Liberalism in the United States, sought to pack the Supreme Court because he could get no legislation through Congress.
I write about this on an ad blog for a simple reason and it has nothing to do with political philosophy.
What makes it relevant, I believe, is that we on Madison Avenue have the annoying habit of thinking the world looks exactly like we do. We think the world is a tattooed sleeve that starts in Williamsburg and ends around Dumbo.
No.
There are all sorts out there.
They're not all like you.
They're certainly not all like me.
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