The Moral Majority

[fencesitter]

Remember that term? I'm weak on my "polly sci" but, was it Johnson or Nixon that used that phrase? So, who are the moral majority now? I thought it was coined as a way to counter the 60's left; that drug taking, demonstrating, sexually liberated counterculture. I think it was Johnson, so did he mean the democratic majority? Today and then that term invoked visions of the fundamentalist right, (to me anyhow). Is it moral to starve the safety nets for the poor to enrich corporate profits?, Is it moral to expect a single mother of two to support herself on a Wal-Mart wage without any funding for childcare or medical? Is it moral for Americans to be unable to afford health care and medicines while our neighbors to the north consider it a birthright, while here the pharmacutical companies reap record profits? Is it moral to ban a medical procedure that could save the life of a mother? Things sure have flipped. I think the moral majority is now in the minority. But then, morality is selective I suppose.

[felonious thunk]

1. Nixon had the silent majority

Which was his bash of leftist activists, when he reasoned that most people were part of the middle basically. And I think that's still the way it is. The only use of "moral majority" I've ever heard is as a propaganda tool by the radical right. And clearly "morality" is in the eye of the beholder.

The problem with the silent majority is just that. It remains silent. The bulk of this country does not agree with the radical right. But they aren't politically active. They don't even vote. They are truly silent, whereas the right IS politically active. It's a propaganda tool they've used to convince the silent majority to stay home. They are in control, so it's pointless to resist. And unfortunately it's been a resounding success for them.

[CheshireCat]

2. Nixon

was the first to use the term "Moral Majority", if my memory serves me. It's use was made common in the mid-70's when Falwell formed the group called "Moral Majority". By the early 80's, this term was so over-used that it meant nothing - just as WMD means nothing today.

edited to say that felonious thunk is right. Nixon used the term "silent majority" in the early 70's. Jerry Falwell started a religious right wingnut organization called "Moral Majority" somewhere around 1975-1976. The term became common place during this period.

[NormanConquest]

3. The Moral Majority was a conservative PAC

I think it was associated or affiliated with Pat Robertson and his various failed presidential attempts. It was disbanded in 1989.

As a popular bumper sticker proclaims, "The Moral Majority is Neither."

[JHB]

8. Created in 1979 by Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich and Howard Phillips

Although generally considered a fundamentalist Christian organization, the Moral Majority was created in 1979 by the wizards of the New Right, Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich and Howard Phillips. The goal of the Moral Majority was to politicize and unify the frustrated and fragmented conservative, fundamentalist religious community and mold it into a political voting block. While the Moral Majority appealed mainly to Christians, it invited all "morally conservative" Americans who believed in its tenets, including orthodox Jews, Mormons, and evangelical Protestants to join in its political battles. From the beginning Moral Majority set a political platform that addressed a broad range of issues. The group opposed abortion, equal rights for homosexuals, sex education in the schools, pornography, and the Equal Rights Amendment. It spoke in favor of a strong national defense, and prayer in the schools, was strongly pro-Israel, and stridently anticommunist. (1,2) Another stated goal, which made the Moral Majority popular with conservative corporate America, was "to defend the free enterprise system, the family and Bible morality. "(13)
--more--
http://www.publiceye.org/research/Group_Watch/Entries-92.htm#P7576_1504238

Jerry Falwell was recruited by Viguerie and Weyrich (after they failed to take over the American Independent Party) to be the Face Man, and Cal Thomas as #2 man.

[Bandit]

4. The Moral Majority ~ is Neither

A famous bumper sticker of the time

[Drifter]

6. Wow ...

talk about timing.

Cheers
Drifter

[Drifter]

5. Great bumper sticker that I saw as a kid ...

The Moral Majority ... Is Neither.

I saw this in the parking lot of a church, of all places.

Cheers
Drifter

[fencesitter]

7. Oh Yes, the "silent majority"

Got things a bit mixed up, too much sex and drugs. Thanks for the clarification. At least there was a moral majority, I didn't hallucinate that one too.