Political Spectrum Shift?

          A media commonplace these days is to repeat how "divided" America is between the political left and the right, and the implicit and explicit message of conservatives is that we have drifted dangerously left of center, especially now with the democratic socialism enthusiastically embraced by the Millennials who supported Bernie Sanders. 
           Some might even consider his proposals of universal healthcare and education as "extreme" - but only if viewed myopically. If we use the developed world as our standard, such public benefits are the rule rather than the exception yet we Americans accept, and some of us even defend this sad state of affairs. And most countries that provide such benefits are not totalitarian states contrary to the sloganeering of the ill-informed. 
          I would argue that we are not left of center but far, far right of center with an unprecedented and well-funded push to continue to push us further to the right. Certain "news" networks can rarely get through a day without the constant and hypnotic repetition of the word "liberal" as well as web chat rooms are full of other demonizations ("libtard," "demoncrat," "liberal scum") that indicate we are most certainly *not* left of center. 
           And then there is right-wing talk radio (some "shock jocks" or "hate radio") where additional invective is used to roil the anger of working folk by millionaire celebrities who are less interested in the welfare of their audience than the income from their ratings.
          According today's increasingly dogmatic political tests, President Nixon was a screaming socialist, calling for national health-care, making connections with Communist China, starting the Environmental Protection Agency and even exercising strong executive authority by issuing a freeze on price increases to stem inflation. As a teen being raised by a single mother after my father died, I can remember feeling grateful that the President seemed to care about ordinary, struggling families. 
          Nixon is only one example, but there are others in terms of policy and legislation. In most ways, America is being pushed aggressively rightward: the prison-industrial complex has made us the jailers of the world, the militarization of police, the erosion of women's rights and an irrational xenophobia are just some examples. We're so far off center that the nominee of a major political party can be supported by white supremecists and retain (if not increase) his credibility with a rabidly devoted base.
          This base is rightfully angry about "globalization" but they need to understand that the "neo-liberal" economic model is a misnamed and does not reflect democratic liberal values at all - it only represents massive accumulation by the few and massive debt for the the rest of us. Unfortunately, the dust kicked up in anger any time the word "liberal" is used prevents some hard working Americans from seeing that the real culprit is greed not liberal social and economic values. 
          For a final check, look at the era of the "Greatest Generation" with much higher corporate taxes, socialized education in the GI Bill, the Interstate highway system, public schools, public hospitals and public libraries. Instead of these public services, today's conservatives speak of a "depleted" military with complete amnesia over the parting warning from President Eisenhower about the dangers of the military-industrial complex. 
          Maybe a first step toward arresting our rightward course might be to start discussing changes in public perception of the political spectrum. After that, we should re-define "globalization" so it is focused on people and our planet rather than the entitled corporate "person" whose appetite for profit will never be sated.