I'M OF THE RATIONAL MAJORITY-1981 Anti Moral Majority pinback by Karl Bernhardt

Description

HISTORIC 1981
PROTEST BUTTON
I'M OF THE
RATIONAL
MAJORITY
A protest button, created and designed by famous
New York artist,
Karl Bernhard.
Made by Fox Buttons in 1981 (Member: A.P.I.C.)
This button was used extensively in the 1980's to protest
the hatemongering  by the so-called "Moral Majority".
A Bit of history....
The Moral Majority was initiated as a result of a struggle
for control of an American conservative
Christian advocacy group known as
Christian Voice
during
1978
. During a news conference by
Christian Voice's founder,
Robert Grant
, he claimed that the
Religious Right
was a "sham... controlled
by three
Catholics
and a
Jew
."
Paul Weyrich
,
Terry Dolan
,
Richard Viguerie
(the Catholics) and
Howard Phillips
(the Jew) left Christian Voice. During a
1979
meeting, they urged televangelist
Jerry Falwell
to found Moral Majority. This was also
the beginning of the
New Christian Right
.
Moral Majority was an organization made up of
conservative Christian
political action committees
which campaigned on issues its personnel believed
were important to maintaining its Christian conception
of moral law, a conception they believed represented the
opinions of the majority of Americans (hence the
movement's name). With a membership of millions,
the Moral Majority was one of the largest conservative
lobby groups in the
United States
. During the
1980 presidential
election
, the Moral Majority is credited with
giving
Ronald Reagan
two-thirds of the white evangelical
vote, over
Jimmy Carter
.
Some issues for which the Moral Majority campaigned included:
outlawing
abortion
opposition to state recognition and acceptance of
homosexual acts
opposition to the
Equal Rights Amendment
and
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
enforcement of a traditional vision of
family
life
censorship
of media outlets that promote an 'anti-family' agenda
The Moral Majority had adherents in the two major
United States political parties, the
Republicans
and the
Democrats
, though it exercised far more influence
on the former.
Falwell was the organization's
best known spokesperson throughout the 1980s.
By
1982
, Moral Majority surpassed Christian Voice
in size and influence. The organization dissolved officially in
1989 but lives on in the
Christian Coalition
network initiated by
Pat Robertson
.
In
1981
, a series of exposés
(later nominated for the
Pulitzer Prize
) by
Memphis
reporter
Mike Clark
led to some condemning
the interactions between the Moral Majority and the Republican Party.
(c) 1981 on button's curl
An Original from the collection of
Larry Fox, "The Button Man" (Member: APIC)
Size:  1 1/2" diameter with lock pin - made in the USA
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