Those of us who are old enough and socially concerned enough recall the 1960s with fondness. Troubled as the times were, it was a hopeful decade, a period when many of us dreamed that better days were on the horizon. We sang and dreamed of love and peace. We thought that the Civil Rights movement would put an end to racism, that the war on poverty might be won.

Today, nearly half a century later, those battles have not been won. The rich are getting richer; the poor are getting poorer; money from special interests buys elections; racism, prejudice, and sexism, have not been set aside. What has happened to our dreams?

In a sense the hopes and dreams of a just society do not even stir most Americans any longer. Those old hopes and dreams are said to represent the values of those “liberals”…