silentmajority09

=Silent Majority=


 * Malinda's Profile**

A letter to the editor, written by a suburban housewife, in response to an article written in spring 1968 opposing the Nixon-Kennedy campaign.

 I believe that Mr. Nixon is the candidate that will provide the change in leadership that American needs at this moment in our history. We are currently in a horrible position; our society appears to be falling apart and we need a strong leader who can restore America to its former greatness. Mr. Nixon can help reestablish law and order in our cities, and revive American values. Our cities are deteriorating; the media is filled with images of burning buildings and injured citizens as result wild riots and protests. Law and order need to be returned to our streets and Mr. Nixon has promised to do just that. The development of this hippie counterculture has caused problems in our cities. Young people are taking a very active role in politics, unfortunately with uninformed opinions and anti-American value. These young people continue to revolt against our government and display no sense of patriotism. The incessant demonstrations and protests for civil rights have also proven detrimental to the safety of American citizens. I supported the establishment of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, but the new black power movement, especially the Black Panthers, is causing much havoc in the cities. We accepted their need for equal rights, but now their attempt to gain even more power through unnecessarily violent acts is unacceptable. I have seen the horrifying results of their actions, especially in 1967 during the Detroit Race Riots. I saw images of cities burning and many injured and I know I am not alone when I say the people of America want some stability back in our society, and we need a leader who can enforce the law and restore peace.

America, as it was once known, is disappearing. We are in need of a revival of traditional American values: self-determination and independence, the acknowledgment of the voices of the citizens by our leader, and a strong sense of patriotism. Welfare is one of the current government programs that are undermining American values. The tax dollars of hard working American families, such as mine, are being taken and given to others with less money who don’t work. These people are becoming dependent on government aid. The government’s effort to help the poor is only hurting these people by making them incredibly dependent. Consequently, they don’t learn responsibility, have less self-respect, and lose many key American family values. This program is destroying the ideals that define America.

Another important American principal that has been lost is the government’s regard for the opinions of the people. Over the past few years our country’s leaders have been ignoring the voices of the majority of the people. Middle class hardworking families like my own have had attention taken away by extreme protesters. The media only presents the outlandish protests and riots; the opinions of average families have become almost irrelevant in the eyes of our leadership. Mr. Nixon has promised to restore these values by refining the welfare policy to restore the American value of hard work, and he has promised to listen to the forgotten Americans, those who aren’t shouting in protest but have remained loyal to our country.

Many of these extreme protests have been centered on the Vietnam War. These show the current problems America is having with law and order and a loss of American values. Many of these protests become violent and the government needs to better control the people who are hurting our cities. These protesters also have lost the American values. Many young people, and disappointingly some members of my own generation, have lost sight of the importance of staying loyal to our country and remaining patriotic. Our country needs to continue combating communism in Vietnam in order to maintain our highly valued way of life. The American people need to learn to stand by their country. Mr. Nixon believes in the importance of accomplishing our goals in Vietnam, and will help to revive patriotism and faith in America.

I may not have a vast political knowledge, but as an average housewife from suburban Kansas I know that there are many others who agree with my statements. We, the silent majority, need to be heard and Mr. Nixon will be the president to do this. Mr. Nixon will help fix the horrible situation that we have managed to get ourselves into by restoring law and order and reviving forgotten American Values.

-Norma Baker Gardner, Kansas


 * Mary-Margaret's Profile**

Dear Editor  I am writing to you as a stay at home mom of suburbia and as a part of the silent majority. Today the hippies are almost trying to take control of our country. I don’t understand how as Americans we are even letting this come close to happening. The hippies are always high and on drug. So how do we or better yet, the hippies themselves know what they are advocating for? How can we trust them; they are high on drugs all the time. All they know is peace, love, drugs, and no war. Speaking of the war most people are against the war. I am one of them. Just because I am a part of the silent majority doesn’t mean I am for war; although I am for Richard Nixon. I think that our people need to come home from war. But I strongly disagree with the disrespect that is being forced upon the soldiers returning from war. I support them one hundred percent. Most of them are kids leaving high school and going to college who had no say in the matter. Spitting, at soldiers is a completely cruel way to treat them. Another point that I have to make, being a stay at home mom in suburbia, is the safety of my home. I don’t know how to trust anyone any more. they are mad people running all over the place. First hippies on drug and second schools are being integrated. I don’t even like my kids playing in the front yard anymore. America is becoming more and more divided because of these issues. I just want a neighborhood that is safe, no violence, and no drugs.  Sincerely,  Kathleen White


 * Amanda's Profle**

This is a letter that a middle class woman might have written to make her community more aware of the problems America was facing in the 1960s.

Dear Neighbors, I am Amelia Car and I am a proud member of the Silent Majority. I am a stay at home mother with three children and a loving, hard working husband. My two boys, Davis (8) and Camden (6) ride the bus to school every morning and soon after my husband leaves for work. As I sit at home cleaning the house and running errands I often think of what America has come to and how it is falling apart. I am putting this letter on your door to notify you of the issues that our community is going through and what we can do to help. We are 55% of the population right now and if we spread our concerns maybe more will join us in this fight. I truly believe that there are more civilized ways in handling the riots and dealing with the Vietnam War. Our troops are there fighting for us back home and they need our respect. I do think that it is time for them to come home and this is not the best use of our time, but every soldier deserves respect. The fact that I am scared of what might happen in our own streets does not reassure me of our government. The crime rates in the city are way too high. Those hippies running around high all the time just does not make sense to me and they need to get a grip on what is right. I also disagree with what our government is currently doing. I do not agree with the Head Start Program because my husband works hard for his money. The fact that our tax dollars are going to people who are not working for it makes me so angry. These people need to learn to pull themselves up by their own boot straps because our government, who we are supposed to trust, has gotten too big and gone too far. I will not participate in public riots and I will not disrespect our police. So together we as a community can come together and support Nixon in this fight. Thank you and God Bless, Your neighbor Amelia Car