The Tide of History Flows Left

[Judi Lynn]

September 15, 2015
The Tide of History Flows Left

by James A Haught

One of my history-minded friends has a long-range political view summed up in three words: Liberals always win. Complex social struggles may take centuries or decades, he says, but they eventually bring victory for human rights, more democratic liberties, a stronger public safety net, and other progressive goals.

Look how long it took to end slavery. Generations of agitation and the horrible Civil War finally brought triumph for liberal abolitionists and defeat for conservative slavery supporters.

Look how long it took for women to gain the right to vote. In the end, liberal suffragettes prevailed, conservative opponents lost.

Look at the long battle to give couples the right to practice birth control. Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger was jailed eight times for the crime of mentioning sex – but she eventually transformed U.S. society. A Supreme Court victory in 1965 struck down contraceptive bans for married couples, and a follow-up victory in 1972 struck them down for unwed ones. Liberals won, conservatives lost.

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/15/the-tide-of-history-flows-left/

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[TlalocW]

1. There was an interesting online essay a few years back

That took the same tack. It doesn't happen as quickly as we would like, but our issues - especially social ones - normally win out, and then 50 years later, the people who opposed whatever societal change was fought for come off looking like evil dickwads. You can of course find people even today that think women shouldn't have the right to vote, etc., and some old fights have flared up again (birth control, racial equality), but for the most part, you go into a history class where they're discussing something like the fight for women to be able to vote, and the class, even conservative students on the wrong side of history today, will be shaking its collective head that people could be against it.

TlalocW