The second half, the response, to this is the type of bullshit that allows right-wing extremism to think that are in the right.
The KKK was, in fact, started by people of the Democratic Party. This cannot be disputed and no one really wants to (ok, lots of people WANT to, but facts are facts).
BUT....
The same people, like "Greg Curtner" above, refuse to acknowledge a VERY important fact: after The Civil War the platforms of the Republicans and the Democrats reversed polarity. Any Democrat from pre-Civil War was, by today's platform, a Republican, and vice-versa.
This means that the PEOPLE who brought us the KKK are more similar to TODAY'S Republicans than to today's Democrats.... regardless of the party names.
The blurry time between ~1900 and WWII generates a lot of confusion as to which platform was trying to accomplish what... but, it doesn't really matter. They were dealing with massive industrialization roll-outs, the "War to End All Wars" and then the Great Depression. There was plenty for everyone to be distracted by without the need for political party finger-pointing.
The New Deal is what cemented the rolls of the parties in the direction they are currently heading.
So, Republicans, OWN it. Your PLATFORM brought us the KKK even if the Democratic Party was the group running it at the time.
Now let's get into the concept of the weekend.
For starters - the earliest use of the word pre-dates Henry Ford. So the concept existed before him, thus IMMEDIATELY proving Mr. Curtner wrong.
BUT, if we're going to go with the idea of the weekend as we know it now and date it to Henry Ford's time - Mr. Curtner is STILL wrong. The concept started in New England textile mills in 1908 to allow Jewish workers Saturdays off for religious observance (that's right - thank the Jews that you get Saturdays off).
Now, if we're going to look at the 1908 era, and examine the labor movement from that time (from which things like the weekend, 40-hours work weeks, the ability to Unionize, etc come from) we get MANY examples where THE PEOPLE fought for the additional rights AGAINST capitalism.
The Coal Miner's Strike was about working conditions, time in the mines, time off, pay rates, and the ability to collectively bargain....
The machinists strike was similarly motivated..
Pretty much ANY strike... EVER... was based on the laborers demanding better treatment from those who owned the resources/job providing agents.
Randomly look up any of them. Wikipedia has tons of links on them, all of which have linked resources in their bibliography.
Google can point you toward other resources.
And guess who is fighting for those same things today? The Left.
Guess who is fighting AGAINST higher wages and shorter hours and greater benefits? The Right.
That's it. End of story. The political party names are completely worthless - it's the IDEOLOGY that matters. The LEFT is filled with people who want the elite oligarchies and aristocracies to NOT have all the power and for the people to be treated fairly. It's contiguous throughout all of recorded history.
If you want people to get paid fairly for their work - and fairly being defined as enough for a full-time job to live on: you're supporting a view that is "on the left." If you feel that ANY jobs are not worth paying people a living wage then you're "on the right." You're saying that those jobs need to be done but whomever does them doesn't deserve to be paid enough to live on.
If you feel that the rich have enough and shouldn't have it all - you're "on the left." If you feel that the rich deserve whatever they can take because they built the businesses then you're "on the right."
There are other traits that correlate to the sides of the spectrum.... and, of course, both sides have extremist idiots... but those are the core stances that HAVE ALWAYS BEEN.
End of story.
Now - for the claim on Henry Ford...
Henry Ford did, in fact, have a HUGE impact in raising the standard in this country.
He did it NOT by giving time off, but by giving high wages.
The legend has it that he increased the pay of his workers so that they could afford the very automobiles that they were making. If it were that simple them everyone who puts up this example should be fighting for EVERYONE to be paid enough to consume the goods/services they provide. For example: McDonald's workers should be paid enough to eat McDonald's for every meal (do the math - they're not).
When workers are paid enough to consume they do - this grows the economy. When workers are paid NOT enough to consume they starve and the economy does, too. If the legend of Henry Ford is true, and he is to be used as an example then EVERY Capitalist of today should be honoring that Legend by fighting FOR higher minimum wages.... Like.. DOUBLE. That's right, Henry Ford DOUBLED the average worker wage. What's that like?
Oh, right... that's like paying people in minimum wage jobs now $15/hour.
But, let's move onward to the real reason. The REAL reason was turnover. The grueling conditions of the plant, coupled with the pay, had men walking off the job to get other jobs that were easier for the same average wages. Since the job of manufacturing automobiles was training intensive and required a "ramp up" time for the workers to be productive enough to be profitable the high turnover rate was hurting the company.
The turnover rate was 728% at the average pay rate.
When they doubled the pay the turnover rate went WAY down and the production went up 32%
That's how Ford contributed... and why. It wasn't the goodness of his heart - it was because he was treating workers so poorly he was losing money....
And he put tyrannical and excessive authoritarian stipulations on anyone who received the higher wages; restricting their freedoms. That's NOT fighting for their rights and betterment.
So, in conclusion, check your history before you make claims that are WRONG.
Also - who gives a shit what history says about which party did what?
Look at what they are doing NOW to determine who is right:
Conservatives:
Trying to rescind healthcare for 20M people.
Backing a tyrant in office who is subverting the very pillars our country was founded on at every turn.
Actively working to crush workers' rights and give tax breaks to the rich.
Actively working to suppress the rights of anyone who is different under the guise of it being a threat to their way of life.
Liberals:
Trying to boost the middle class by raising wages for the middle class and the poor.
Trying to make healthcare affordable for everyone.
Trying to ensure everyone has equal rights based on their skin color and gender and whose genitals they want to (or not to) touch.
As if to really highlight my points on current PLATFORM stances we have the Governor of Missouri, a Republican, working toward removing basic, common-sense protections for women. Should this new law pass it will be legal for employers to fire women for getting pregnant out of marriage, for using contraceptives, or for getting an abortion. Likewise, if this law goes into effect, it will be legal for landlords to evict women for any of these "offenses" as well.
That's right. The Republicans of Missouri are trying to make it legal for a woman who doesn't want to get pregnant, who is being responsible by taking the pill (or other contraceptives - OR is taking the pill for non-contraceptive medical reasons) to be made homeless and unemployed for the audacity of the decision... AND they are, literally, trying to make it legal to fire pregnant women and throw them out of the street JUST FOR BEING PREGNANT. THIS is the PLATFORM of the Conservative side of the spectrum.
This is the PLATFORM of the CURRENT Republican Party.
Current actions speak louder than history. If you take steps to reform yourself and be a better person people notice; likewise, if you take steps to abuse, offend, and demean others they will take notice.
REFERENCES:
Ku Klux Klan
*Wikipedia is no worse than any other encyclopedia. Yes, anyone can edit it - but the number of eyes, and the tracking done on it, keeps it pretty accurate. It cites primary sources and secondary sources constantly. MULTIPLE tests have been done of it that show it is a AT LEAST, if not MORE accurate than World Book and Encyclopedia Britannica.
So, Yes, I will use it as a basic resource.
Why Did the Democratic and Republican Parties Switch Platforms
Where Did the Five Day Workweek Come From
Timeline of Labor Issues and Events
The Machinists' Strike, 1900
The Story of Henry Ford's $5 a Day Wages: It's Not What You Think
Annual inspections of abortion clinics, pre-empting St. Louis ordinance part of House proposal
Spoiler alert:
Liberals always win in the end.... if they didn't there would be no progress.
Another spoiler alert:
When the conservatives take too much and upset the balance of rights and wealth too greatly it leads to violent revolt, pushing the pendulum too far in the other direction. History shows us this over and over again.... the reverse is never true.
When the pendulum goes too far it flips the polarity on what LOOKS like conservatism and liberalism....
Militantly enforced socialism is NOT liberalism - it is the few controlling everything at the expense of the many....
Militant communism is also not liberalism - it is the few controlling everything at the expense of the many.
Liberalism is the equitable distribution of resources and wealth so that the many have enough.... after that anyone can work their asses off to get more.
Conservatism leads to the few having all the power and all the wealth for their own luxury.
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