**Original Post**

Prior to beginning work on this discussion:

• Read Chapters 13 and 14 of the course text.
• Explore The Political Compass (Links to an external site.) website and take the quiz.
• Read The Rise of Conservatism Since World War II.

Based on your textbook and the required article, address the following items:

• Explain some of the beliefs and positions of the conservative movement.
• Keeping in mind the progress of the progressive movements in the 60s and 70s, explain at least three reasons for the rise of conservatism in the last part of the 20th century.
• Explain which groups benefited from conservative policies and which groups were impacted negatively.
• Select an issue that you feel is important today. How does a knowledge of history help us gain a better understanding of this issue?

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Your post should make reference to the required materials with in-text citations. Your references and citations must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource. For help with this, see the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) resource. You may use additional scholarly sources to support your points if you choose.

Consult the Writing a Discussion Board Post (Links to an external site.) and the Summary vs. Analysis (Links to an external site.) resources as you formulate your response.

For help with your initial post review the Thinking about Week 5 Discussion 1 guide.

Guided Response: Respond in a substantive manner to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7. Each response should be at least 100 words. Be sure to relate your discussion back to the course materials and move the conversation forward by asking a question, raising a new point, or elaborating more thoroughly upon a point already raised. Continue to monitor the discussion forum throughout the learning week and respond with robust dialogue to anyone (including your instructor) who replies to your initial post.

Classmate #1 Jonathan McKenzie

Conservatists who believed in respect over racism, during the 1960s made a serious decision to distant themselves from those who displayed a more extremist view of the movement. “Leading conservatives sought to distance themselves from the cruder forms of racism, there was broad opposition to the Civil Rights movement as it emerged in the 1950s and 1960s” (Carter, 2003, pg. 4). William F. Buckley was a leader among the extreme conservative groups that believe whites were superior of the races. He favored such ideals as a way to maintain or secure political and cultural agendas.

During the 70s and 80s Jerry Fallwell was a televangelist and political activist responsible for motivating other Christians to help support pro-republic political candidates, which aided in the conservative agenda. “Fallwell founded institutions that attracted students by promoting conservative Christian values and teachings” (Barnes & Bowles, 2014, Sec. 13.0). Farwell views favored the American citizens who were against same sex relationships, valued the traditional families and heterosexual relationships. His message was so widely received that it led to owning one of the first megachurches in the nation which housed over 1000 worshipers each week (Barnes & Bowles, 2014, Sec. 13.0).

One thing that I would like to address is putting an end to racial discrimination as it pertains medical treatment. “Structural racism has been entrenched in our societies for centuries and it would be naïve to believe that its impacts will not spill over in the era of PM” (Geneviève et al.,2020). Historically, people of color have been treated with preestablished treatment that’s solely based on race or relying on using race as a substitute instead of using proper clinical methods. Stereotypes like born to tolerate pain, frequently complains about pain, or being predisposed to a drug addiction are presently plaguing medical facilities when it comes to the treatment of people of color. These types of views need to be eradicated from the minds of all medical providers to help balance the level of appropriate medical care for all human beings.

Barnes, L. & Bowles, M. (2014). The American story: Perspectives and encounters from 1877. [Electronic version]. Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu (Links to an external site.)

Carter, D. T. (2003). The rise of conservatism since World War II. OAH Magazine of History, 17(2), 11-16. Retrieved from http://magazine.oah.org/ (Links to an external site.)

Geneviève, L. D., Martani, A., Shaw, D., Elger, B. S., & Wangmo, T. (2020). Structural racism in precision medicine: leaving no one behind. BMC Medical Ethics, 21(1), 1.

https://youtu.be/tx2j_nMubX4 (Links to an external site.)

https://youtu.be/Xs4xzwZ6NEg (Links to an external site.)

Classmate #2 Ryan Richard

One of the positions held by the conservative movement was the need for smaller government control, especially in social welfare programs, which some conservatives saw as something that often “led to idleness and undermined the work ethic of its recipients” (Carter, 2003, p. 11). Another belief of the conservative movement was how there was a link of a welfare state with that of communism, which was continuing to spread throughout the world and instilled a fear that international communism was a legitimate threat to Americans and the Western world (Carter, 2003). Both of these beliefs tie into what conservatism has become in the United States, which is a philosophy that preaches respect for American traditions, pro-business, and anti-labor union.

The rise of conservatism began immediately after the Second World War when Soviet suppression of democratic governments and the spread of communism throughout the world started gaining the attention of American politicians and their constituents. However, the conservative movement did not start earning a stronger ideological hold on the American public until the 1960s. Even though the 60s and 70s have become known as an era of progressive movements, public opinion was quickly declining on how liberal administrations were handling the war in Vietnam, and what was often perceived as militant civil rights activism. Many believed that the expansion of traditional social welfare programs was too expensive and was creating a society that would rather receive handouts than find work on their own (Carter, 2003). Much of the country became distrustful of the government following the Watergate scandal and believed government regulations were the last thing needed for the economic and social progress. These changes in public opinion led to the rise of conservatism in the 20th century.

Evangelical Christian groups and others who believed respecting “traditional” American family values were of the utmost importance in seeing the nation succeed were two groups who benefitted the most from the rise of conservative policies. Racial minorities and those who believed in equality for all were groups who were negatively impacted by the same conservative policies.

As much as I would like to come up with something original as a critical issue, I believe that racial disparity is one of the most pressing issues America continues to face. Racial disparity is prevalent in the criminal justice system, the housing and job market, education, and our often-embarrassing healthcare system. The latter, we are witnessing with the COVID-19 pandemic and how African Americans are at a heightened risk of contracting and dying from the virus (Doran et al., n.d.). History can help us better understand that disparity of any kind within a society will only further cause separation and animosity amongst its population.

References

Carter, D. T. (2003). The rise of conservatism since World War II. OAH Magazine of History, 17(2), 11-16. Retrieved from http://magazine.oah.org/

Doran, K. M., Cha, S., Cho, R., DiPietro, B., Gelberg, L., & Kushel, M. (n.d.). Housing as Health Care During and After the COVID-19 Crisis. Retrieved from https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/20… main article.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y