I am 57¾ years old, and I have lived 63% of my life under republican rule

[SoCalDem]

Truman was president when I was born, and the grandfatherly Eisenhower was the president of my childhood.

Kennedy ushered in my teens, and brought a new hope for my future.

We all know how THAT turned out.

My early twenties were spent with Nixon & Ford.

Turbulent times in my personal life mirrored the tenure of Jimmy Carter during my mid-late twenties. (3 sons born in 5 years..and moves to 4 states during that same 5 years...no we were NOT on the lam, so stop saying that)

Just as my life seemed to be leveling off, and a comfortable routine would establish itself, I got Reagan for eight long years. Every pay-raise, came with an additional loss of benefits/ tax write-offs, and of course inflation like many here have never seen.(and I hope never will).

Truth-be-told, when GHWB took over from St. Ronnie, I think we never got 'rid" of him. I see his grubby fingerprints all thoughout Clinton's terms in office, and of course he or his "men" are guiding junior though his fiasco-of-a-presidency too.

Most of my life has been spent under republican rule, and even though I have somehow survived, I cannot help but wonder ... What IF?

What IF Bobby had not been assassinated?

That pivotal year, '68 seems to have set everything we now experience, in motion.

As an anti-warrior, I feel deep down, that Viet Nam would have ended much sooner. I feel that RFK would have been a two-termer and by the time Reagan would have had a shot, he would have been even older, so we would have never had Bush 1..

if wishes were horses, beggars would ride..and all that stuff, but history has a way of taking a wild tangent sometimes, and we don't know the consequences for decades..

Here's hoping the young ones now are paying closer attention than I did

[MadMaddie]

1. I am hoping along with you the * will put the final nail in the Republican

party....

[INdemo]

28. I think he already has...

[Ptah]

2. I'm 57 years old and have lived under nobody's rule.

[tblue]

3. Wow. And only 1 presidential candidate I ever voted for won (or got to serve, if you count

Gore and Kerry, who were robbed). Why is it that the party that hates goverment gets so much control of it?

[illinoisprogressive]

4. My life has been longer under the rule of republicans and it is hell

All the promise that brought my parents rewards have been hard fought by their children. I think we have done worse. We came at a time when the dems were in power but, were ending their rule. We came of age during the rise of republicans and found it impossible to find enough money to get enough college and jobs were tight and reaganomics was causing jobs to be scarce. The only time I have found a small light where the promise of my parents generation seemed possible for me was in the mid to late 90s. It was short lived. We look at the ravages of the hell of the last 6 years and know life will never be that hope of our parents. I hope my children, now in their 20s, will find most of their adult life under democratic rule and promise returned.

[scarletwoman]

5. I'm 57 1/6 years old -- wow, beautiful post!

It constantly amazes me to look back over these past 5+ decades and think about what the common people of our country have been put through by the people in power.

sw

[madokie]

6. damn near 59 for me and the best years for me were the Big Dogs years

I heard on of our kids telling one of his friend a while back that boy things were sure better when Clinton was the president. He was born in '81 so he was aware of things at a pretty early age, lots earlier than I was

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. 57 year olds of the world unite!!!

Let us throw off the chains of Republican domination...in 2008.

I am only 57 5/12ths.

[Lasher]

31. Hee hee, I'm 57 & 99/100ths. Birthday on the 16th this month.

Guess we're crawling out of the woodwork.

Clinton was the best president of my lifetime. Junior was the worst, ever. And the OP is right, Saint Ronnie soiled the country. The stench is still with us.

[EFerrari]

33. Happy Birthday a little early, Lasher.

Saint Ronnie is warming his feet in hell right now or (insert agnostic cognate here).

[Lasher]

44. Thanks, sfexpat2000.

Just 3 more days now and I will be officially older than dirt.

Here are some resources that have come in handy for me when I run up against the propaganda campaign to make people think Saint Ronnie of Reagan was not the blithering idiot he was:

The Real Reagan Legacy
Ronald Reagan - The Bonzo Years
The Ronald Reagan Years - The Real Reagan Record

This is one of my pet peeves.

[EFerrari]

47. Mine, too. The man was a creep before he became a murderer. n/t

[phillysuse]

8. I'm 58 years old and I agree that RFK's death

was the major event that propelled us from working towards a true America of inclusion, peace and prosperity to the current fascist state we live in.

We need somehow to get back on the road never taken.

[brazos121200]

9. I registered to vote for the first time on January 20th, 1969, and

since then I have only lived under a Democratic President for a total of 12 years, and in only six of those years did the Dems have control of the white house AND both houses of congress. In all those years the Democrats have never has a majority in the Supreme Court or a Chief Justice, and I think the laws of the land reflect that. I hope we are finally upon a new era of Democratic rule, for my own and my family's
sake.

[yellowdogintexas]

10. Ihave often speculated on "what if" RFK had not died

For sure he would have been a two termer and most importantly we would have never had Nixon.

No Nixon
No Water gate
No resignation
No revenge

Most likely No Reagan, thus No Bush

No junior

sigh

[marmar]

11. I'm 34....

and it's been 4 years of Nixon/Ford
4 years of Carter
8 years of Ronnie Raygun
4 years of Bush I
8 years of Bill Clinton
6 years of Presidunce Bush II

Total: Republican years - 22 Democratic years - 12 :cry:

I think I need a drink. :beer:

[illinoisprogressive]

14. You are still a baby. Young. Wait 20 years..lol.

[EFerrari]

17. marmar -- you are a baby and going into the best years.

Enjoy and kick butt.

:toast:

[marmar]

19. Thanks, sfexpat...

Repug butt first! :kick:

[EFerrari]

26. Oh, but DEFINITELY!

LOL

:kick:

[illinoisprogressive]

12. Since so many are in the 50s, why are we thought to be 20 year olds

by the msm. They think we are all these 20 year old college kids and there are so many in their 40s and up here. Kinda makes you wonder where the idea came from that we are not the voice of the average american

[EFerrari]

13. I've been 39 for a while now.

And I remember reading the Nixon transcripts in my college library at 16 and having the librarian shush us because we were laughing out loud at all the deletions.

I can say, I didn't pay attention when Carter was in or when Clinton was in -- or, not enough. Maybe I felt safe because they were Democrats -- as if the world is that simple. In the first case, we were raising kids and working blue collar jobs and there didn't seem to be any energy left over. We did manage to vote for Carter even after the race was called against him that last time.

During Clinton, there were other family issues that took up my attention, raising two sons and in grad school and solo, and I really regret that now. Because everything that is happening had footprints back then.

I join you in hoping that the 20 Somethings are paying better attention than I did.

[jedr]

15. 59.3

and the best economic times I've known were the last 4 yrs of Clinton. Could write a paragraph or two on the subject, but will leave it at that! When those of "the greatest generation" tell me how bad they had it in the depression, I remind them of how good they had it after WWII. I will never see that prosperity in my lifetime. :toast:

[SoCalDem]

18. Yep.. some of those "oldies" grabbed for the gusto

and used it all up...left little for their younger family members.. but then they probably thought it would go on forever..

[jedr]

20. Once again I could go on for ever;

But without Roosevelt and Truman they would have lived the life of a third world country.As truman said when asked the difference between repubs and dems "Democrats are people who like to help people who need a little help. Republicans are people who like to help people who don't need anymore damn help".

[Raine]

16. I'm 56

it's the same thing for me. :cry:

[ribrepin]

21. I'm one year younger at 56 and 3/4

It's depressing to think how much of my life has been spent under the repubs. God, I hope this finishes them off.

Nixon is looking like the good old days.

[illinoisprogressive]

22. Roosevelt and Truman were heroes. I would have liked to know what

it would have been like be an adult in the golden age after their policies had been in place like our parents.

[SoCalDem]

34. Born in 1927 meant too young for WWII, too old for Viet Nam

and "just the right age" to get the maximum benefit from the 50's & 60's booming economy, union wages, guaranteed benefit pensions, cheap cars, cheap land, cheap houses, cheap college..AND to be able to retire to the maximum benefit of medicare & social security..

and people who were born in 1927, were NOT caring for their elderly parents in their own 40's & 50's & 60's.

Life extension in a big way began with THEM..not their parents. (My mother's parents had both passed on before she was even 35...(and with their passing, her inheritance meant she never had a house payment from that time on)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

38. Born in '27 would be just right for Korea

... another fun spot in its time.

[SoCalDem]

41. That's true, but Korea was not as "big" of a war, and lots of WWII

vets were recalled, so maybe some of the ones who missed "the big one", also skipped the Korean war..

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

45. True, not as big as WW2, but close to VN

Korea cost about 40,000 U.S. lives in three years, Vietnam cost 60,000 U.S. lives in sixteen or seventeen years. So Korea was a bit smaller, but more intense. At least in terms of U.S. lives.

I haven't found WW2 U.S. deaths by theater, might be interesting to compare VN to WW2 Pacific for example.

Certainly a lot of folks were in both WW2 and Korea.

All those wars were far bigger than the sixteen years of Iraq (so far).

[madrchsod]

23. 60 here

i count ike and ford as moderate republicans who by todays standards are dlc democrats. what pisses me off is that we underestimated the young republicans during that time...guys like cheney,bush,and others like them.

[NewJeffCT]

24. I'm 40 - I've suffered through 65% Republican presidents

born at the end of 1966...

So, I had 2 years of LBJ, 4 of Carter, 8 of Clinton. So, 14 of 40 years, or 35%

[bonito]

25. 54 here and I'm here to tell you

:yourock:

[Alamom]

46. 54 and I have to tell you, this is so depressing. I had never

thought about my life in these terms. (no pun intended)

I do agree with others, the Big Dawg years were great compared to ....just about any other time.


Makes you wonder where we would be if we would have had a few more Democrats in charge........

[DemReadingDU]

27. Hey, I'm 57, 1 week until I'm 58

I think the young ones today will have to pay closer attention...too many economic signs pointing to a major downturn. Most kids today have always lived in 'good' times, they'll pay attention when there is no extra money.

[immortalstar_2007]

29. 1984 and Little Brother

The Republicans used computers (mainframes, baby) from the 70s on, and they managed to thwart any democratic (party and principle) tendencies in the "Republic of America". In the middle 90s, this began to change, so Diebold et al was called into the fray. Now that's gone down (Rove used early October numbers to determine the "close" flip, and that, ahem, wasn't enough). So the heyday of the computer as "spoiler" is about over...not completely, of course, but almost....

Control over the internet is being attempted (funny how Yahoo discussion boards completely go down just before the Democrats take Congress, and stay down longer than it takes snail mail to go all the way to Mars and back). What they got, two programmers?

But the "moveable feast" is over. Even Congress has a hangover and can't count beyond 1 and 1/2. Democracy has visibly risen. People are going to use moveable type to do more than just reprint the Bible. Progess moves on, finally. If sputteringly....

[samplegirl]

30. Paul Krugkman

wrote an interesting article on this in this months rolling stone
magazine. He said we are about to be locked ito social status
forever.

[onecent]

32. SoCalDem...those kitties are the BEST. What a great picture to

have captured. I have 2 - one kitten, one grown cat (persian).

That's one of the greatest pictures I have seen.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

35. I'm 58-1/3

So my experience is the same as yours. Unfortunately, I don't think the younger ones I know are paying much attention at all.

[nicknameless]

36. IMO, it all turned on JFK's assassination and cover-up.

The People's President was brutally murdered, and the ability of the people to determine their government has never been the same.
Who would try to cover up such a thing ... besides those who were involved directly or indirectly?

So much of the self-determination The People enjoyed at that point was wrenched away by the shadowy hand of big brother/fascism.

[yorkiemommie1]

37. 59 ....

Gee, I never thought of it that way.



:-(

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

39. SoCalDem, so what about Johnson?

Johnson's simulated signature was on my draft notice. I'm not likely to forget him.

fta

[SoCalDem]

40. Oops.. I forgot him .. How could I have missed him :)

I guess I should proof-read.. I though I covered them all :(

[WinstonSmith4740]

42. I know what you mean.

I'm about a year older than you, so our time lines are the same. I also wonder "what if" about JKF, RFK, and MLK. I'm a substitute teacher and we've been covering MLK in the elementary classrooms, so it's been on my mind a lot this week. I also share your hope that the young folks in this country are learning from history so they won't have to repeat it.

[last_texas_dem]

43. 15 of my 23 years have been under 'pugs

Bleh... born during Raygun, so Clinton is the only Dem President of my lifetime. (Not the only one technically elected, but the only one to serve.) I'm hoping '08 will be a chance to help balance out the imbalance of Repug Presidents in my lifetime.

[Mikey929]

48. Rule?

Don't forget -- you had a Democratic congress and senate for substantial periods of your life too, so you can't really say you were under Repub rule. And you probably had Dem state and local government too at times which can certainly affect your daily life. And not to be picky, but the economy under Carter was dreadful. Don't you remember those awful gas lines? And a big chunk of the Vietnam War was under Johnson -- '63 to '68. So it wasn't all wine and roses when Dems were in the white house. I hesitate to romanticize the good old days because we always imagine them to be fonder than they really were.

[stubtoe]

49. Thanks for doing this thread.

As an over 50, it's nice to see I'm not the only one who feels this way. This is what I love most about DU.

[Hepburn]

50. 58.5 years old...

...and a SoCalif Dem, too.

I hear you! :hug: