In a sense Carter's presidency was pivotal the last time, because it meant everyone could feel patriotic. Now only some can, and they will be heavily shamed for it by the richest and most culturally powerful people. It'll be a much smaller affair as a consequence.
In a way, the World Cup tourists are giving us what we can't give to our own nation this time around: honest joy in the thing that is America.
Grim, that doesn't work out. Carter was elected in November 1976 and inaugurated in January 1977 after everything was pretty much over. I don't know but highly suspect the Watergate drama in 1974 put a serious crimp on any Federal government plans. I don't disagree with your assessment of the current situation, and while the Presidency being up for grabs in 1976 could have made things less partisan, that doesn't strike me as the primary reason.
My recollection is that while there was broad interest and a fair amount of enthusiasm, most commemorations were local affairs or the efforts of nongovernmental groups even at the national level. I know about the Freedom Train (of course) though I think it went east while my family was vacationing west so I missed seeing it in person. I remember a Tall Ships gathering in NY Harbor that was televised (maybe by one of the morning shows?) and the "Bicentennial Minutes" on TV. People went all out on the Fourth but that was actually pretty normal.
To me the times are different because the people are different. In 1976 the leaders in the US were still firmly in the pragmatic and patriotic GI generation (Ford and Carter), and the compromise-minded Silents. The Boom generation was just moving into adulthood and while they certainly exerted influence, I think the impact of their moralizing at that time (and earlier) is often over-hyped. The generational alignment is starkly different today. As you alluded, actions and celebrations now are assigned a moral value along starkly partisan lines because our leadership is of a generation that sees them in that light, and we've got a mass of young adults (Millennials) who, like the GI generation, are primed to fight for the implementation of a moral vision. It's our fate that rather than facing an external existential threat(so far), our battle has turned inwards to competing visions of American society.
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In a sense Carter's presidency was pivotal the last time, because it meant everyone could feel patriotic. Now only some can, and they will be heavily shamed for it by the richest and most culturally powerful people. It'll be a much smaller affair as a consequence.
In a way, the World Cup tourists are giving us what we can't give to our own nation this time around: honest joy in the thing that is America.
Grim, that doesn't work out. Carter was elected in November 1976 and inaugurated in January 1977 after everything was pretty much over. I don't know but highly suspect the Watergate drama in 1974 put a serious crimp on any Federal government plans. I don't disagree with your assessment of the current situation, and while the Presidency being up for grabs in 1976 could have made things less partisan, that doesn't strike me as the primary reason.
My recollection is that while there was broad interest and a fair amount of enthusiasm, most commemorations were local affairs or the efforts of nongovernmental groups even at the national level. I know about the Freedom Train (of course) though I think it went east while my family was vacationing west so I missed seeing it in person. I remember a Tall Ships gathering in NY Harbor that was televised (maybe by one of the morning shows?) and the "Bicentennial Minutes" on TV. People went all out on the Fourth but that was actually pretty normal.
To me the times are different because the people are different. In 1976 the leaders in the US were still firmly in the pragmatic and patriotic GI generation (Ford and Carter), and the compromise-minded Silents. The Boom generation was just moving into adulthood and while they certainly exerted influence, I think the impact of their moralizing at that time (and earlier) is often over-hyped. The generational alignment is starkly different today. As you alluded, actions and celebrations now are assigned a moral value along starkly partisan lines because our leadership is of a generation that sees them in that light, and we've got a mass of young adults (Millennials) who, like the GI generation, are primed to fight for the implementation of a moral vision. It's our fate that rather than facing an external existential threat(so far), our battle has turned inwards to competing visions of American society.
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