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Faith in Fiction: Three Presidencies in an Age of Disbelief [1]
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Date: 2025-07-14
Three presidencies spanned the 1970s—from Nixon (1969–1974) to Ford (1974–1977) to Carter (1977–1981). Each man entered office during moments of national uncertainty and attempted, in different ways, to respond to the political, cultural, and economic disruptions that followed the 1960s. Each offered a different “normal:” Nixon’s law and order, Ford’s decency and continuity, and Carter’s moral renewal. But all three ultimately failed to contain the chaos. The decade was defined not by stability but by escalating distrust in government, economic turmoil, and national malaise. The Vietnam War, ongoing protests, and deepening inequality continued to erode public confidence. Behind the public messaging of renewal or restraint, each administration papered over the growing fractures of American life—engaging in what can only be described as competing hypernormalizations of a society in decline.
Nixon’s 1968 campaign promoted “law and order,” but it was steeped in deception. He covertly sabotaged President Johnson’s attempt to negotiate a Vietnam ceasefire by sending backchannel messages to the South Vietnamese government to stall talks—promising them a better deal under a Nixon administration. President Johnson knew about Nixon’s sabotage, as the FBI and NSA had wiretapped communications proving it. When Johnson learned of this, he said, “This is treason. It’s a damn bad mistake. It’s treasonous.” This did not become public until 2007. Nixon’s—Tricky Dick’s—illegal interference in diplomacy happened while he publicly called for the war to end. This act of political treachery prolonged the war for four more years, at the cost of over 20,000 American lives and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese casualties.
Nixon reframed the social unrest of the 1960s as the fault of radicals, minorities, and antiwar activists—not structural injustice. His invocation of the “Silent Majority” became a potent cultural tool, recasting protest as chaos and reaffirming a mythic, moral American center. But his escalation of the war—including the 1970 invasion of Cambodia—triggered national outrage and tragedy, most notably the Kent State shootings, where four students were killed and nine injured by the National Guard during peaceful antiwar demonstrations.
Despite his authoritarian tendencies, Nixon had significant policy achievements. He opened diplomatic relations with China and pursued détente with the Soviet Union, signing the SALT I and ABM Treaty in 1972. He also signed major environmental legislation, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and established the Environmental Protection Agency.
Yet, Nixon’s paranoia, surveillance obsession, and belief in executive power led him to abuse state institutions. He maintained an Enemies List, expanded the Counter Intelligence Program and Operation CHAOS, which spied on Americans, and used the IRS and FBI to target political opponents. His disdain for the press and political dissent laid the groundwork for the Imperial Presidency. Ultimately, the Watergate scandal exposed his corruption, and he resigned in disgrace on August 9, 1974, before he could be impeached.
Gerald Ford was sworn in that same day. Having served as House Minority Leader, Ford had been appointed Vice President in 1973 after Spiro Agnew’s resignation. Upon becoming president, he famously declared, “Our long national nightmare is over.” But in pardoning Nixon just a month later—on September 8, 1974—Ford reignited public anger. The pardon confirmed many Americans’ fears that political elites were above the law, and Ford’s approval ratings collapsed, from 71% to 49% overnight.
Economically, Ford faced stagflation—a disastrous combination of inflation, unemployment, and stagnant growth. His solution, the “Whip Inflation Now” (WIN) campaign, relied on public goodwill and volunteerism but lacked substantive policy, making it a national joke. The final humiliation in Vietnam further marked Ford’s Presidency: the fall of Saigon in April 1975, ending the war with chaotic helicopter evacuations.
Still, Ford supported global human rights by signing the Helsinki Accords and narrowly survived two assassination attempts, but he failed to inspire or unify the country. His Presidency came to be viewed as a caretaker administration—well-meaning but ineffective in the face of national unraveling.
In 1976, the public turned to outsider Jimmy Carter, who promised moral leadership, honesty, and decency. His early Presidency reflected these values: he prioritized human rights in foreign policy, brokered the historic Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, and initiated energy conservation policies that prefigured later climate initiatives. While his distinguished post-Presidency was historic in terms of service, support of democracy, and moral leadership, his overall Presidency was less than inspiring.
However, Carter’s low-key style and aversion to political performance backfired during an era that demanded assertiveness. The Iranian Revolution in early 1979 led to a second oil crisis, spiking gas prices and inflation. In July, Carter delivered his infamous “Crisis of Confidence” speech—an honest diagnosis of the nation’s spiritual malaise, but one interpreted as defeatist and bleak.
That November, militants in Tehran seized the U.S. embassy, taking 52 Americans hostage. The Iran Hostage Crisis lasted 444 days, dominating headlines and weakening Carter’s already faltering Presidency. The hostages were released on January 20, 1981, just as Ronald Reagan was being inaugurated, sealing Carter’s image as a failed leader in the public imagination.
Despite their ideological differences, Nixon, Ford, and Carter each projected a hypernormalized version of America—insisting on renewal, unity, or moral clarity even as systemic crises worsened. Nixon offered a fantasy of law and order while destabilizing democracy from within and acting lawlessly. Ford sold optimism and healing while stagflation and post-Vietnam disillusionment spread. Carter articulated spiritual honesty but lacked the political power and persuasion to counter national decline. In each case, the dominant narrative masked uncomfortable realities—military failure, economic decay, cultural fragmentation, and a deepening distrust in institutions. These hypernormal narratives promised stability while avoiding the structural change the country desperately needed.
The 1970s were not just a transitional decade—they were a reckoning. Nixon’s abuses shattered the myth of presidential integrity. Ford’s earnest but inadequate leadership revealed the limits of post-scandal normalcy. Carter’s moral clarity failed to translate into policy power. Together, these presidencies showed a nation struggling to define itself after the upheavals of the 1960s. Each president constructed a version of America that no longer matched the facts on the ground. In doing so, they helped lay the groundwork for the neoliberal revolution and conservative backlash that would reshape politics in the 1980s. The collapse of confidence, credibility, and consensus across this period made the rise of Ronald Reagan—and the powerful new hypernormalization he represented—not only possible, but almost inevitable.
Day 176: days left to January 20, 2029: 1,286 days
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