ABSTRACT

When dealing with a human spirit that has produced both passive submission and the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, one is ill advised to claim finality for any conclusions about acquiescence and rebellion. It is now widely accepted to say that control of the terms of political discourse and/or the agenda for political action has an effect on both those who support and those who oppose particular outcomes. The most compelling feature of the rightward push of American politics in the late 1970s, culminating with the first election of Ronald Reagan, may not have been the election to office of conservatives, but the pull on Democrats, even liberal Democrats, toward budget cutting and muscle flexing. The main characteristic of such moments is that people question the subjects that had previously been considered settled or even taboo: the emperor’s new clothes are exposed.