As we get further into the 21st century, we’re approaching a sociological and political “tipping point” similar to the one that we encountered in the mid-1960s.
Let’s consider the parallels:
The oldest members of the enormous Millennial generation are coming of age in 2004, just as the oldest members of the Baby Boom generation were coming of age in 1964.
In the preceding election cycle, the presidency went to the party holding both houses of Congress by the narrowest of margins, based on the disputed results in a single state. In 1960, it was Illinois; in 2000, it was Florida.
The party controlling Congress had held control for 10 years. The Democrats regained control in 1954, while the Republicans regained control in 1994.
The economy is entering a new boom after a mild recession. John F. Kennedy’s tax cuts stimulated the economy in the early 1960s in much the same way as those of George W. Bush are doing today.
The country has troops engaged in combat overseas. Vietnam and the War on Terror are clearly different, but they also have certain parallels.
Most importantly, the nation faces a moral divide that’s energizing many, even as others are oblivious to it. In 1964, that divide was Civil Rights; in 2004 that divide is defined by faith and family values.
As hard as it may be for many Americans to believe, removing the Ten Commandments from public display and elevating gay unions to the level of marriage are at least as motivating for conservatives as George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door or the Selma civil rights march was for liberals.
In fact, the most perceptive political analysts are now beginning to recognize faith as the crucial “fault-line” of modern American politics. And the way it impacts the electorate is already dramatically reshaping party affiliations and electoral maps. The full magnitude of this seismic shift is likely to be felt for the first time in the 2004 election cycle, even though it’s been building for nearly four decades.
The noted liberal columnist Nicholas D. Kristof observed in the November 12, 2003 issue of The New York Times that, “…liberals are becoming more secular at a time when America is becoming increasingly religious… Americans, for example, are significantly...
