History Lessons

One of our brilliant Gen Z writers @KaivanShroff wrote an interesting piece challenging the prevailing narrative that Gerald Ford’s pardon of Nixon was the best thing for the country. https://t.co/DfDfvjtFUE

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 6, 2024

Years later, Ford reflected on his decision, acknowledging the political fallout: “The political fallout was far more serious than I contemplated…I knew it would have a downside politically, but I had to weigh the political ramification, which was obviously negative, with the benefit to the country, which was very significantly on the upside. And that's part of your job in the White House." This painstakingly crafted reframing of history took time to become the dominant narrative. According to Gallup, only 35% of Americans approved of the pardon in 1976, two years after the decision, by 1982 46% approved of the decision, and by 1986 a majority, 54%, agreed Ford had made the right choice.

So, 12 years after the Ford pardon, a majority decided it was a good idea. It was about that long after the Civil War that the “Lost Cause” narrative sprang up.

I don’t compare the two except in this: those least likely to remember the event, are most likely to misconstrue it. The generation that fought the Civil War learned the lesson of their defeat and didn’t wax nostalgic for what was “gone with the wind.” Their children, however, and their children’s children, were another matter. 

1986? Reagan’s “Morning in America”? I remember people younger than me who’d already forgotten Nixon and didn’t even remember Reagan from “Death Valley Days.” They didn’t remember Nixon, they didn’t remember Vietnam, they didn’t remember Watergate or the”secret plan to end the war,” or Kent State, or RFK or JFK or even LBJ. They knew Reagan. And Nixon couldn’t have been that bad, right?

1986 was also before Iran-Contra. Long before Poppy pardoned himself by pardoning all the suspects in that criminal investigation. Funny how we’ve only needed Congressional investigations and criminal investigations is with Republicans, isn’t it?

It was a dark time, made darker by the American unwillingness to ever learn from history.