WHAT'S NOT NEW

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

If you're worried about the words and actions of the current president, it's easy to feel that the world is falling apart.

One of the challenges when looking at the big picture is differentiating what's new from what's not.

This outstanding piece by Nick Martin explores the dramatic political impact of the late Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), who served 5 terms in the U.S. Senate starting in 1972. I urge you to read it and decide for yourself whether any of the following trends are new in the last couple of years.

• vicious political campaigning

• money in politics

• the use of mass media to deceive voters

• open support of white supremacy by elected officials in Washington, D. C.

• a divided left failing to assert itself against a mostly united conservative machine

"The government is neither caretaker or maid; it is not here to fix the problems of past governments or societies; if you don’t like it, there’s the door. The only difference was that Helms was willing to openly address skin color and political preference in these critiques without hesitating for fear of national backlash. If Nixon could say these things and reap crowds of fans and the presidency, Helms thought to himself, then maybe a small-town guy from North Carolina with no interest in playing to a mass audience could actually put some weight behind the words, and bring to Washington not just an impression of extreme conservatism but the real thing—actual policies that would begin to reshape the way people viewed the role of the federal and state governments." - Martin's paraphrase of Sen. Helms