4th of July and LBJ

Kenny and I visited Austin last week, and as part of our trip, we toured the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential library.  It was inspiring to see LBJ's massive list of legislative accomplishments - the "War on Poverty".  Since this week is a celebration of America, and since many of us are discouraged about what's going on with national politics right now, I wanted to share some of my thoughts that came from walking through this museum.  

LBJ's inaugural speech depicts an America which is already great, and which is greater still when it lifts everyone up:

"In a land of great wealth, families must not live in hopeless poverty. In a land rich in harvest, children just must not go hungry. In a land of healing miracles, neighbors must not suffer and die untended. In a great land of learning and scholars, young people must be taught to read and write."

Based on this vision, one that's rooted in hope rather than fear, LBJ pushed through a staggering list of anti-poverty programs, civil rights laws, and other huge contributions to our society.  I will list just a few highlights - the full list of 100+ laws is here:

• Clean Air Act
• Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act
• Medicaid, Medicare, Food Stamps, HUD
• Free School Breakfast and Lunch, Head Start, federal funding for all levels of education (including college)
• Created PBS, NPR, and NASA
• Public safety acts that made cars and highways safer

So what does this mean for us now?  Our country's current leadership seems locked in extreme partisanship and is led by a man whose domestic agenda is exactly the opposite of all this.  What relevance does a president from 50 years ago have to modern day?

What it means to me is that America's leadership has not always been this way and will not always be this way.  Do you think our great grandparents, pre-FDR, could imagine a country where the federal government helped pay for health care, housing, food, and higher education for those who who could not afford it?  Where we had rigorous (if not perfect) environmental and safety standards, and excellent publicly funded news sources?  Where human beings of every race were guaranteed some basic civil rights?  Just 100 years ago, all of these things were unimaginable, and now we have all of them.  There's great debate about whether these programs should be bigger or smaller; repealed or improved or stay exactly the same.  But the fact remains that we have a public safety net for our most vulnerable citizens and legislation guaranteeing certain human rights, which would have seemed like a pie in the sky dream 100 years ago.  

I do not mean to suggest that we should put any ultimate hope in politics or politicians, as I think this will always disappoint.  I also do not mean to make light of the dramatic impact that a particular law change can have on a particular family, and I intend to keep posting / calling / waving my fist on behalf of these things.  But I do think it's worthwhile to contextualize this particular moment of America's history.  

We've had ups and downs in the 231 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed.  This current administration is the pendulum swinging away from LBJ's vision, but it will eventually swing back.  In the meantime, those of us who agree with robust federal programs to support anti-poverty initiatives, civil rights, education, public safety, and the environment can keep voting, making phone calls, and otherwise making our voices heard.  We still live in a free country where we can make our protests, where transitions of power happen peacefully - there is so much to be thankful for.


I will end with this very famous quote from the Declaration of Independence, which we celebrate today and which is on point with the vision of America that I saw in the LBJ museum.  Happy Independence day, America!