We seem to think politics was never as bad as they are today. Recently, I was reminded of my Aunt Mariah. She died when I was ten. I was scared to death of her. There were two reasons for my fear. First, Aunt Mariah was hard of hearing and spoke very loudly. The second was she had a goiter. It made her look odd as her neck had a massive lump. We do not see goiters today because of improved nutrition. You can find more about goiters at this address: https://www.healthline.com/health/goiter-simple.
Aunt Mariah today would be called a “rock-ribbed Republican.” She thought that President Roosevelt had ruined the country. She would not even speak his name. I remember her talking about Social Security and saying it would destroy the country. In fact, all of the “New Deal” programs would destroy the United States. Those programs were passed in the 1930s.
1930 was 96 years ago. Social Security and other New Deal programs did not end the United States. I mentioned before the recent poll showed that both parties thought the other party would destroy the United States. It is interesting to see how little things have changed in almost 100 years of politics. Aunt Mariah would not even mention the president’s name, who she felt would be the death of the United States.
Today we have seen an attack on the spouse of a political figure. The attacker is obviously mentally ill. Aunt Mariah was not mentally ill, but her unwillingness to not even speak the name of the president who passed the New Deal shows the depth of her dislike for the other party and its leaders. Those two facts show how little one party thinks of the other. We really do not live in a “strange time.” Politics always produce wild swings in emotions. Nothing new!
