The Silent Majority

The Silent Majority
Current mood: thoughtful

Playing Trivial Pursuit (What a great game! What a great title---I love pursuing trivial things!) last week, a question came up which caused me to think. The question had to do with a quote from Richard Nixon and who he thought elected him. The answer was the "Silent Majority."

Today I was putting this into the context of our current lovely situation and wondering whatever happened to the silent majority. I heard the term bandied about time and time again during the 2004 election, and for some naive reason had this underdog/lifesaver sort of spirit all summer as I held out hope that the regime might get bumped from office by the wisdom of this silent majority.

You know who they are: sensible, reasonable, hard-working, down-to-earth people who go about their business, don't talk politics but pay attention, and know right from wrong. These people knew that pre-emptive war was questionable at best. They knew that taking from the poor and giving to the rich was wrong. And they've noticed the continual drone of scandal and abuse of power from a cocky Washington.

Obviously they were still a little too Silent in '04....

Nixon was elected in '68 due in large part to the "Pull Out of Vietnam" theme of his campaign. He didn't stick with that theme for much longer after he was sworn in, keeping combat going (not to mention attacking Cambodia!) for the remainder of his presidency.

The silent majority turned on him pretty damn quick. What will happen this fall, not to mention '08? That is, if the Silent Majority still exists? Or are they just too busy watching American Idol to care anymore?