National Amnesia

bill fancher fancher at pacbell.net
Tue Aug 29 18:38:04 PDT 2000


Most people in the U.S. now seem to think things were pretty good in '92 according to this Gallup poll (which has been out for a while, but has drawn no mention that I've seen):

<http://www.gallup.com/Poll/releases/pr000816d.asp>

The way I remember it, in '92 there were For Rent signs everywhere, lots of yard sales, lots of beggars, lots of downsizing, lots of job insecurity, lots of pay cuts, and lots of people out of work. (And that's only the domestic stuff.) I don't see that anymore.

In keeping with the numbers for the general population, the current "left memory" seems to be that prior to Clinton the U.S. was a welfare state paradise. Then Bill and Al sold everyone down the river and now we're being fooled into thinking things are better, when really they're worse.

My perceptions differ. (Of course, I'm not a professional leftist, and don't have a now worthless stake in the status quo ante bellum, which might account for my doubtless delusional state.)

-- bill

"Truth unfolds in time through a communal process." CQ



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