The Cycles of Our National Politics
Sep 27, 2025
Rolland Kidder
In my lifetime, I have lived through what I would call two or three “cycles” in our national politics.
We came out of World War II as the major super-power in
the world–there was a good feeling in the country. Yet, somehow, we lost our
“mojo.” Along came the fall of China to the communists and then the war in
Korea.
Suddenly, in the 1950’s, we were in a mood of fear and
apprehension. Along came Senator Joe McCarthy, “pouring kerosene on the fire,”
blaming it all on purported communists in the government and conducting a
campaign of fear, falsehoods and blame. The country went into a kind of funk.
It took President Eisenhower to steady the ship and then for President John
Kennedy to bring us new hope and new direction in 1960.
A similar pattern developed in the late 1960’s and
early ’70’s. The heady years of confronting segregation and passing a Civil
Rights Act descended into acrimony and blame during the Vietnam War and these
feelings were exacerbated by riots which were erupting in the cities. This
negative mood followed Richard Nixon into office. It took President Carter to
“steady the ship,” and then President Reagan to instill a renewed sense of
confidence and pride again in our national politics.
Now, again, we are in national funk which seems at
least partly related to our misguided wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fear and
blame are rampant. It is the “radical” right against the “lunatic” left. There
seems to be no middle ground which is where Americans like to be. Seemingly,
someone has to always be blamed when things go wrong.
Sadly, I don’t see things much changing with the
current administration. We have a President who, right off the bat, blamed the
“lunatic left” for the Charlie Kirk assassination. Someone, apparently, had to
be blamed, though, at the time, little was known about the assassin.
Now that Kirk’s assassin has been apprehended, early
reports indicate that he was not affiliated with any political party, may have
been radicalized by the violence promoted through the internet and video games,
was a loner and–like most assassins–he may have mental or emotional issues
influencing his behavior. Whatever his motivations, it was a terrible crime.
Yet, it was not a time to fan the flames of hatred
through finger-pointing and blame. Sometimes our Commander-in-Chief needs to be
our “Healer-in-Chief.” I thought that the Governor of Utah provided better
leadership by calling for national mourning and an end to partisan
blame-calling. The country needs voices of unity and healing after such
horrific incidents.
So, what is next?
If the cycles of our political life are any indication,
a leader will become President who will help stabilize and reunify the country.
Then that person, or another, will bring us again to remembering the American
spirit and how we have jointly and positively addressed the issues that we have
faced in past years.
In the end, our national motto “E Pluribus Unum” (out
of many one,) will work once more and Americans will come together in unity to
tackle the next big problem (or problems) that will inevitably come along.
This is our common hope and is what keeps us going as a
country.
