ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER

American History continues through the Lyndon Baines Johnson presidency:

The Great Not So Great Society
by Michael Doyle

LBJ entered his presidency aiming to be legendary
Setting his sights on ending poverty through Great Society
Johnson aimed to do this being a master of legislation
Conversely, the Conservative movement was rising in our nation

With his vastly arrayed quiver of proposed legislation
And his actions to ensure black vote was franchised in our nation
In favor of the Great Society is its decrease in poverty
This, however, had it's Medicare increases that still cause anxiety

Marriage became weakened under some of welfare's requirements
The gap between promises and results grew from flawed government
There was great question as to the ethics of the whole
It would lead to much skepticism as to the government's role

Civil Rights failures led to the Watts riots and across the nation
These riots were a bloody sort that came in MLK's repudiation
Which in turn caused damage to the plight and cause of civil rights
In a tortuous path of the torn and tattered urban nights

Vietnam and Southeast Asia experienced conflict's escalation
As three torpedoes fired let the Tonkin Bay Resolution
This led to a blank check war seemingly with no limitation
One in four serving were drafted to stop a domino fall of nations 

Despite the agreement that there is no substitution for victory
The politics of the time dictated our soldiers be limited capacity
This Doctrine of Limited War led to the DMZ and how we fought
And why victory could not be had not matter how hard sought

Soldiers bled out on television screens in full gory real time
Up close, personal and wearing away as touching on sublime
Antiwar angst and unhappiness led to a general disaffection
As radical movements angrily sought a different direction

Counter culture in its alternatives struck its nihilistic pose
A product of our affluence in rejection of materialism to propose
And answer in echo of Eisenhower's warning against the inadequacy
Of the emptiness found as we woke to reshape America's history

Johnson was so rattled by all of this critical opposition
That he stepped down as nominee in surrender to his contrition
Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy were shot dead
Assassinated in a wave of violence that left our nation in dread

Like last men standing, Richard Nixon ran against Hubert Humphry
Peace with honor would lead the path to Nixon's victory
Triumphant in his return to politics from the wilderness
In the end, this too would lead to much lack of kindness

(c) April 10, 2020  Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved