Reply #6: I sincerely hope so. [View All]

One of my earliest memories is of the McCarthy era. My family was one of the first to get a television just so my mother could watch those hearings. She'd had a brief flirtation with the Communists during the 1930s when they were the only ones standing up to Hitler. It didn't last long as she soon realized they idolized Stalin, who was nearly as bad. Still, she was afraid we'd get that fateful knock on the door.

The fear then was pervasive, and even a kid barely out of diapers (me) could feel it. People never knew when a neighbor with a grudge would turn them in. People felt it necessary to prove their loyalty at all times. I think that kids, especially, felt this.

I'm not surprised that people over 65 still have that silly, knee jerk anti socialism. The second cohort of boomers, those born from 1955 to 1964, were kids during the height of the Cold War and share that silly knee jerk anti socialism. These are the main age groups of the Hooters although others are certainly present.

I'm as careful who I tell about my socialism as I am who I tell about my atheism. Otherwise sensible people have those amazing cutoff points in their heads that make it deeply threatening to them that another reasonable person can be either atheist or socialist.

If you're telling me that young folks don't share one of these cutoff points, then I'm much more hopeful for the long term prognosis for this country.

(to this day, I'm extremely shy about signing my name to any petition, no matter how praiseworthy the cause. Thank you, Tail Gunner Joe)