One more that I hope can provide a bit of context for pretty much any conversation (that has taken place in the US since about 1776) about ‘culture war’ issues:
One of the innumerable consequences of the obstinacy and cognitive rigidity of social conservatives as a group is their seeming inability to grasp a sense of relevant history.
As each group that they’ve aggressively tried to marginalize began to get equal rights, the sky simply didn’t fall. The social conservatives – as is pretty much always the case – were utterly and completely wrong.
Oh, they seethe and writhe and say horrible things when nobody’s listening (or when people are listening), but the apocalyptic predictions … never come to pass.
Period. End of story.
But rather than do just the barest amount of introspection and reflection, the social conservatives simply set their sights on whatever their next vulnerable bogeyman of choice must be.
As “God” needs the “Devil,” these social conservatives constantly need some shadowy figure to rail against.
And – yes: I love the LBJ quote, too:
If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.
–Lyndon B. Johnson