The Silent Majority Needs to Make Some Noise

The term silent majority is associated with former President Richard Nixon. He used it in a 1969 pitch to the American people to support the Viet Nam War. He believed that the vast majority of Americans silently agreed with his Viet Nam war policies - in contradistinction to the very vocal and sometimes violent anti war protests that had begun under his predecessor, LBJ. Which intensified under his watch.  

I never voted for Nixon. But I think he was right about the silent majority. And I believe it still exists. Although I think it needs to be redefined somewhat. While most Americans still have traditional values they have been influenced by a variety of factors that have given way to the cultural milieu of our time. For example the traditional view of homosexual sex has gone from seeing it as deviant  to seeing it as a protected right.  

The silent majority is more flexible today about certain values. But I still believe that for the most part most Americans still have the values that made this country great.  And that they are still silent about expressing them while trying to live up to them quite openly.

This might be one reason President Trump won the 2016 election. I don’t think he could have won without that kind of silent support. Those voters did not like the direction this country was going. Some of them might have even voted for the previous President! 

Even though the polls predicted Trump would lose, the silent majority spoke up when it counted. Although Trump lost the popular vote there were certainly a lot of people whose views were not reflected in the polls. (As an aside, I don’t think that will happen in the next election for a variety of reasons beyond the scope of this post.)

Which brings me to the current trend that seems to be throwing traditional values to the wind. I say ‘seems’ because I don't think that is the actual trend. But the mainstream media loves to stir the pot by focusing on the not so silent, vocal (and often violent) small minority of people that have anything but traditional values. When the mainstream media focuses on the kind of thing that happened Friday night in Chicago without noting that it was a small minority and not the  mainstream, the viewer can easily conclude that what those people were  protesting is the prevailing view of most Americans. Making their own view seem to be in the minority. From the Chicago Tribune: 

In the current climate where the police are being painted as the source of all evil - the image of police in violent conflict with protesters makes it seem like the 1968 ‘police riots’ all over again. The police clashed with anti-war activists protesting the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago that year. The media characterized it as an unprovoked bloody police confrontation against peaceful protesters. Hardly a word about how some of the more radical elements of those protesters provoked the police response. I am not condoning the reaction of the Chicago police at that time. Just noting the media slant on it. And that this was again the case last Friday night in Chicago.

If one were to make a judgment about  policing in America by following media reports and the lack of any counter protests - it would not be unreasonable to conclude that the call for de-funding and disbanding the police was the the right thing to do and is the actual will of the American people. 

Adding to that perception is that some media reporters characterized these protesters as peaceful. Implying that the police were not provoked - and just wanted to bash a few heads. The message is that the world would be  better off without the police - better served with by the social service agencies those protesters seek to replace them with. 

I don’t believe for a moment that this is the case. I firmly believe that the silent majority supports the police. While at the same time agreeing that there needs to be a reassessment of police policy that will assure fair treatment of minorities by police departments all across the country - ridding them of any and all racism.

I also believe the vast majority of Americans  do not want to see statues of Columbus or any other important historic figure defaced, destroyed, or  taken down  And that they are as upset about these kinds of protests as I am. As is Chicago’s black mayor, Lori Lightfoot. 

The mainstream media should be faulted for exacerbating this problem. 

It would be great if the silent majority were not so silent. Mainstream America should be heard. It would speak volumes if for example there were a ‘million man march’ in Washington DC attended by a cross section of Americans ranging from the politically liberal to the politically conservative. The purpose of which was  to support the police... and oppose destroying statues of Columbus or any other historic figure that contributed to this great country. The media would be forced to cover it. That would put to rest the notion that America in danger of becoming radicalized beyond recognition.

I wish some prominent Americans would organize an event like that and to show the world (and ourselves) that we hold traditional American values to be ‘truths that are self evident’. Let America come out in unprecedented numbers.

Unfortunately I doubt that will happen. Besides, it is not really a good idea anyway until this pandemic is eradicated. But it’s a shame that the radicals among us are not bothered by it. And end up the only ones making noise.