Local opinion: Remembering LBJ and the Great Society

It will not mean much to most people, certainly not to the younger generations, but this coming May 22 will mark 61 years since the inception of The Great Society. On May 22, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson stood before 70,000 people in the University of Michigan stadium and delivered his now-famous commencement address in which he spoke of a new beginning, a new era and the concept of a great society.

That speech transformed into the enactment of some of the greatest pieces of legislation ever seen in the history of the United States. In fact, Johnson was responsible for having 226 pieces of major legislation enacted in the short six years of his presidency. They were all part of his Great Society and his War on Poverty and included such significant laws as the Civil Rights Act, Medicare and Medicaid, the Voting Right Act, the Clean Air Act, the Federal Highways program and the Food Stamps program, all enacted simply because it was the right thing to do. And while Johnson’s goals were admirable, they were also challenged by the costly and devastating Vietnam War and opposition by Republicans. Some programs were lost; most survived and remain to this day.

Despite those setbacks, Lyndon Baines Johnson pushed ahead and set a standard for the presidency based on service to the people. He knew he had the power to strengthen the lives of the people of this country and to strengthen the position of our nation in the world order. Consequently, he used that power effectively and with judicious prudence. And as stated, he and Congress banded together to enact those major pieces of legislation strictly because it was the right thing to do. It was the moral thing to do. It was the sacred thing to do. That was a mindset that put country-first and duty in the limelight.

May 22 is not a date celebrated as a special holiday or occasion. In fact, it comes and goes without any recognition at all. But history has it firmly recorded and recognized if not marked with indelible and profound meaning. But today, long after Johnson’s time, his legacy remains and is marked by the millions of lives his legislation has positively affected.

In realizing all that Johnson had accomplished, there is, of course, a natural tendency to want to compare Johnson’s achievement to that of other administrations. And in doing so we find that his years rank high among those of the other presidents.

Interestingly, though, when compared to the current administration we find a very deep dissimilarity to not only the achievements gained but also with ideology, philosophy and the full concept of people’s worth.

When Johnson gave his address, he was speaking of service to the people, of helping the people; of improving everyone’s lives. For a striking contrast, compare Johnson’s position to today’s presidential measures that are bringing about a disregard for the rights of the people, of bringing retributions and the quieting of those who disagree.

Compare the concept of a better life for all the people to the dismantling of services and programs that could and do provide for that better life.

The message LBJ gave on that morning in Ann Arbor, Michigan was an uplifting of spirits to citizens still devastated by the recent assassination of John F. Kennedy six months earlier and whose lives needed a strong, bright light at the end of a darkened tunnel. But today there is no bright light at the end of a tunnel. And worse yet, none of what is being done today is the right thing to do, the moral thing to do and the sacred thing to do.