Summary

A ratchet is a device that allows something like a nut or bolt to be turned in one direction--but not in reverse. It allows movement in one direction only; it does allow for the object to remain stationary, but no reverse--no “going back.”

Isn’t that exactly what is happening almost all around us; in politics, religion, fashion, behavior and “what’s acceptable”, and in technology? In politics we are moving steadily to the left, in fashion and behavior ever more libertine, and technology continues to change our lives--for better and for worse. On the other hand, is education an area where the ratchet effect has us going backwards--not going forward?

For the next 10 minutes, we will talk about the ratchet effect in America.

Continuing

Beginning with two-term Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921, the Democratic party has been moving ever to the left, emphasizing more government responsibilities and fewer individual responsibilities. Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt, FDR, 1933-1945, continued that trend. There were moments when the ratchet stopped moving to the left, but, I argue, it never reversed. Democratic Presidents, John Kennedy, JFK, 1961-1963, and Bill Clinton, 1993-2001, created short pauses, e. g., Kennedy’s tax cut and Clinton’s workfare. Republican President Ronald Reagan, 1981-1989, created something like a two-term pause--but no reversal. The most recent Democratic President, Barack Obama, 2009-2017, pushed the country leftward.

No Democratic Presidential primary candidate today would have any chance of being their party’s nominee if they advocated the then-winning policies of either FDR or JFK. And we are already seeing signs that Joe Biden, Obama’s two-term VP, might have an uphill struggle in his apparent effort to be the 2020 Democratic nominee. Why? I argue that the Democratic party has gone past wanting an “Obama Third Term” because the party has taken another leap to the left in just the past few years. Bernie Sanders ran to Hillary Clinton’s left for the 2016 nomination--and lost. Today his party is forcing even him further to the left, adding things like reparations to his platform to be competitive.

First-term Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) says former President Barack Obama’s promise of “hope and change” was just a mirage. She went further in her criticism by pointing out the “caging of kids” at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Obama administration. (Obama was called the “deporter-in-chief” by immigrant rights advocates for the record number of undocumented immigrants deported during his presidency.) As a capper, at least for now, Rep. Omar called out the “droning of countries around the world” under Obama. A 2015 report claimed that nearly 90% of people killed in recent drone strikes in the Middle East “were not the intended targets.”

There is a sudden appearance of women from Biden’s past, seemingly timed to coincide with his impending announcement that he will run for the presidency. They are coming forward with complaints about his having made them uncomfortable with his actions. These women represent the first round of  attacks Biden can expect if he runs for the nomination as expected. Yes, he is old, white, male and heterosexual; all the wrong things to be in today Democratic party politics of identity politics and intersectionality. But the big issue is that his politics are not at all sufficiently left. Sanders is also old, white, male and heterosexual, but his politics are acceptable to those who object to Biden’s.

Today’s Key Point: Politics are rapidly ratcheting left. Is that what you want? If so, then you need do nothing. If it is not okay with you, then you need to get moving and make a difference. And no more holding the line, no more Horatius at the Bridge fighting a defensive battle; it is time to reverse the trend.