Sunday, October 26, 2008
One more political memory tonight - 1964, I remember learning about the John Birch Society on the school bus - and that some of my friends parents kept guns in their houses and belonged to the NRA and believed it was an important right to be able to keep guns. That felt alien to me. I remember ROnal Reagan in California politics - and our family didn't like him but I don't remember why. I liked Lyndon Johnson then. He was a Texan like my family and I knew where his ranch was and hoped he would be a good President. I remember the picture of him being sworn in on AIr Force One after Kennedy died - how sad he looked. I liked Lady Bird and her interest in Texas wild flowers. I knew most of the Texas wild flowers because my Grandma Anna had taught me their names.
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Powerful memories.. I remember hearing genocidal, racist talk in my Virginia school lunchroom. I still sometimes wonder if any of my deep south uncles were in the Klan at some point. My exposure to the John Birch society came much later, with in-laws who were members, and after moving out here in 1995, meeting members at the espresso stand and seeing a John Birch poster down the road, "Get Out Of The U.N. Now!". Fear is everywhere, back then and now.
Interesting to think that I grew up on a city very instrumental to the John Birch society and truly did not pay any attention to it in high school or even college. I am sure I must have heard of it, can't imagine I would not have, but have no association in my mind from those days with it. My guess is it wasn't mentioned by significant people in my life or wasn't part of my high school history classes or prominent in our local newspaper...or perhaps I wasn't paying attention? It sort surprises me now.
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