1. Why did people lose faith in the government during the 1970’s?
There were many major events and reasons the people of this country lost faith in the government during the 1970’s
The backlash over the continued participation in the unpopular Vietnam War. As the United States was going through a major cultural change many people were actively engaged in protecting the war. Many believed the government was lying to the people about why we were in the war. Lying about how we were winning the war. Many were protesting the unfair balance of those who were drafted to into service in comparison to those were better off financially and were able to get out of service. The protests were often violent and cost lives on many college campuses around the country.
Race relations- The civil rights movement of the 1960’s carried into the 1970’s but carried with it battle of Black Americans and their fight to ensure equal rights, desegregated and integration of schools. As the Black community gained more equality there was still a considerable distrust in the government’s commitment to fulfill promises and promote true equality.
Watergate- in early 1972, then President Nixon was forced to resign after the break in discovered at the Watergate building by members of the Nixon campaign into the offices of the Democratic Party offices. With the considerable cover up the followed, the erasing of audio tapes of key meetings in the oval office and the ultimate indictments of several government officials, Nixon finally resigned in disgrace and the trust of the American public in their government was shaken to its core as it questioned the leaders of its government.
2. Who was the best and worst president since WWII?
Donald Trump- To me this is the easiest answer. Forget whether someone agrees or disagrees with his economic or political agenda. Anyone can feel one way or the other that has always been politics. But this is a person who;
a. Has been clearly caught on audio tape discussing the sexual harassment of woman and has been accused by many others of inappropriate behavior and harassment. This is the President of our country! In this time, where sexual harassment has become a polarizing issue. A time when people of authority in all walks of our life, whether in business, politics, sports, media, etc are losing their jobs and being held accountable. This one individual, our President, the person who is supposed to represent our nation to the world, is being held to a separate standard? Why is he held to a different standard? He is disgracing the “office”. His presence in the oval office is saying to the world “we are ok with his sexual behavior”.
b. His polarizing of our citizens. His creation of separation of our communities. His backing of other candidates who also have questionable behavioral patterns such as Roy Moore, the failed Senate candidate from Alabama who still believes homosexuality should be illegal and is clearly a racist. Trump’s actions after the death of an individual resulting from the allowing of a KKK and white supremacist protest march that by clear video tape was going to cause violence and Trump tried to blame the people who were trying to stop the march.
c. Trump’s constant use of social media such as twitter to rant and rave any time anyone so much as disagrees with him. The Office of the President should be above reacting to every comment that criticizes him.
d. Trump’s actions regarding foreign policy or interaction with foreign leaders is NOT presidential. Whether his constant provoking of North Korea, to the insulting manner he speaks to our closest allies, to his withdrawal from the climate change initiatives supported by every other industrial nation in the world (even China and India).
e. Trump’s constant attacking of Hillary Clinton when his own actions during the campaign are now in question.
f. Trump’s sudden announcement of the moving of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital without addressing any of the Palestinian issues. I am not against the policy. I am against the action without purpose that will do nothing but provoke confrontation and promote distrust of the U.S. in the middle-east.
g. This president has greatly damaged the overall view of the world when it comes to thinking of the U.S. President as the “leader” of the free world. No other President in history has done more damage to the institution of the presidency than Donald Trump and he has only been in office for 1 year.
Ronald Reagan- Ronald Reagan’s movement of the country from the times of Watergate, the Iran Hostage crisis, the oil shortages the resulted in economic problems, to the low standard view of America by foreign powers, the influence of the then Soviet Union and loss of confidence in the government by the American public; when Ronald Reagan came into office the entire direction of the country changed.
Reagan in his eight years in office ended the cold war. Brought United States back to prominence on the world stage. Brought down the Berlin Wall. Brought the end of Communist expansion as well as the end of the Soviet Union. Americans were proud again. His economic policies set up the great expansion of the economy that lasted well into the 1990’s.
Reagan had one of the highest approval ratings of all Presidents and reached across party lines to gain consensus on a considerable number of his political initiatives.
In direct contrast to Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan was someone who brought this country together after difficult times. He created a new direction that was followed by Republicans and Democrats as evidenced by his landslide election in both elections he was selected as our President.
6. Why did the cold war end?
The “Cold War” began after World War II and lasted until the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s. Not really a war as most people would think of what a war is but more of the competing for the dominance of world influence between the then Soviet Union and the United States.
The Cold War ended not really because one side beat the other but more that the economic strength of the United States and its ability to continue to outspend the Soviet Union in their defense spending, buildup of their nuclear arsenal, ability to spread the ideas of capitalism to eastern parts of Europe and the loss of confidence in communism by members of the eastern bloc countries.
In the 1980’s the then President of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev was faced with a failing economy and an inability to continue its massive defense spending. In addition, Gorbachev was forced to curtail spending within the Eastern Bloc countries as well as the individual states that made up the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev’s policy known as “Perestroika” was an attempt to give more trade and economic controls to the various members of the Soviet Union as well as eastern bloc countries. What resulted were countries one at a time pulling away from Soviet influence as they experienced capitalist type policies and freedoms. With the “Berlin Wall Collapsing” and eventual unification of Germany; Poland, Hungry, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and others pulled away one at a time. In the end, the Soviet Union finely broke apart as individual Soviet States declared independence. That was the end of the Cold War!
8. How has the War on Terror impacted America at home and abroad?
Home- 9/11 forever changed America as we knew it from emotional and psychological perspectives as well as economically. For the first time since the attack on Pearl Harbor Americans felt vulnerable at home. The problems in the middle-east and Afghanistan were no longer just faraway places with problems of their own Americans saw on the nightly news but were now brought to our home. Many Americans, like what happened after Pearl Harbor began to act out after anyone who remotely looked like an Arab or were Muslim in their religious beliefs.
For many years after 9/11 and still today to a great extent, many Americans view Muslims as the enemy. Who can blame many who constantly now see the acts of terror that have now played out not only around the world but right here in our backyard where acts of terror are in fact carried out by Muslim fanatics claiming the lives of so many Americans.
Besides emotionally and psychologically, the war on terror has effected America at home with the sheer amount of tax dollars having to be spent on two wars that has lasted since 9/11 and the resulting instability of an already dangerously out of control part of the world. These trillions of dollars spent on these wars could have gone to the infrastructure needs of our country, the investment into our own economy, the reduction of taxes. Basically could have been better spent on the lives of our own citizens.
Besides the economics just the high loss of life by those serving in our military and the resulting effects on the families at home. Losing fathers, sons, daughters and moms. The war on terror has greatly change America forever.