1976/2026

by Joan Weaving

Remembering a stable 1976—and reflecting on the decade that fractured our democracy.

The temperature was in the low 80’s and the sky was sunny on that July 4th when we gathered on the roof to view the bicentennial celebrations in NYC. I was living on the west side of the Hudson near the George Washington Bridge and we could see the tall ships as they paraded up the river and back down. The masts of each ship looked like they would skim the bottom of the bridge and we held our collective breath as they turned. The sails were all unfurled, and each crew stood in dress uniform on the rails, saluting America. If we stood on tippy toes and looked south, we could see the flotilla of small boats swarming around the Statue of Liberty, the beautiful lady of the harbor who welcomed immigrants to our shores. In the distance the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center penetrated the sky. Only a few years old, they had quickly become the symbol of America’s great strength and dominance. How ironic that a quarter of a century later their destruction would symbolize the beginning of America’s decline.

But on that roof top and around the country, we were thrilled. Thrilled to be Americans with a rich heritage to celebrate; thrilled to be living in the best country in the world; thrilled to believe that our future was bright.

It’s hard to remember now, thirty years after its decline, that we were constantly living with the Cold War and the threat of Communism. The need to outdo the Soviets was paramount. Only seven years before we had beaten Russia to the moon, symbolizing to the world that democracy was superior to autocracy. Our celebration of freedom that July day was a show of pride in our way of life.

Positive changes were occurring in the 1970’s. The Women’s Liberation movement was growing, and women were beginning to demand their rightful place in the halls of power. Gloria Steinem launched Ms. Magazine to help women manage the double responsibilities of homemaking and working outside the home. Reproductive freedom reached its pinnacle when Roe vs Wade allowed women to choose to terminate a pregnancy if necessary. The EEOC, which was established by Congress in the 60s, made discrimination in the workplace illegal. Companies had to change their hiring and firing practices to assure that women and people of color were being treated fairly. Inclusion was the watch word.

All was not bright, however. The Vietnam war finally ended in 1975, but the damage it had done to our country was still evident. The war had carved a deep gash between the younger and older generations, each side feeling that the other was unpatriotic. I had marched against the war, believing what would later prove true—that it was immoral and unwinnable. I marched and protested and chanted, and didn’t stop to consider that the right to do so could be vulnerable. America had granted me that right.

But it was Watergate which dominated the 1970’s and for most of us it was our first exposure to impeachable acts. Nixon, a victim of his own hubris, had taped his oval office conversations, including his planning and then covering up the break in at Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate building.

Looking back, I can see how the scandal of Watergate was different from the scandals of today. Though we didn’t recognize it at the time, Watergate reaffirmed that our constitution, with its protected freedoms and system of checks and balances, still worked.

Watergate unfolded in the press due to the persistence of two young reporters, Woodward and Bernstein, who worked for the Washington Post, and the daring gamble the newspaper took to expose the crimes that had been committed and were taking place by our leaders. It was these two reporters who uncovered the smoking gun that led to Nixon’s resignation. The press was not silenced, though it may have been threatened or even sued. And the Post not only continued, but it thrived, becoming the only viable competitor to the New York Times.

Nixon did try to get away with his crimes just as Trump does today. And he did try to smear his enemies, just as Trump does today. But in Nixon’s case, the constitutional system pushed back. And there’s the difference.

The Senate convened a Watergate Committee. Under the leadership of Democrat Sam Ervin and Republican Howard Baker, the committee gathered the evidence that eventually led to the resignation of 40 of Nixon’s aides.

The committee appointed a special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refused on principle and resigned. Nixon then ordered next in line, William Ruckelshaus, to fire Cox. He too refused and resigned. Eventually Nixon found Robert Bork to carry out his order. Years later Bork was refused a Supreme Court appointment partly because he complied with this illegal order.

A new prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, upon learning of the existence of white house tapes, ordered them to be turned over to the Senate Committee. The White House released edited transcripts of the tapes; the Judiciary Committee of the House insisted on receiving the actual tapes.

Nixon refused and took his case to the Supreme Court which voted unanimously that the tapes must be turned over.

Impeachment proceedings began in the Senate. Key Republicans joined the Democrats and warned Nixon that he would be impeached. Nixon chose to resign.

In a smooth transition of power, Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as president.

His first order was to pardon Richard Nixon so that Watergate could be put behind and the country could move forward. He knew it could cost him the presidency if he chose to run for office in 1976, but he did it because he believed it was right. And he did lose in the ’76 election.

As I write this article, the 250th birthday of our country is three months away. At this time in 1976, every street corner, every mall, every shop announced in bright red, white and blue banners that a special day was coming. Stores displayed red, white and blue merchandise. TV channels announced special programming on American history. It was a big deal. America was a big deal.

As of this writing, I have not seen any announcements. There are no banners, no fancy merchandise, no parades planned.

What has happened?

One could argue that halfway through a century is not as important as the full century mark.

But I think it is much more than that.

America is under a cloud. We have realized that our constitution is vulnerable and that our rights are not as safely protected as we believed.

We have seen the first ever non-peaceful transfer of power, with a president unwilling to concede and allowing rioters to storm the US Capitol.

We have seen infringements on freedom of the press as the press corps is denied access to unfiltered information and major broadcasters and newspapers are threatened if they are not favorable to the president.

We have seen the legislative branch become paralyzed by fear of opposing the president allowing him to enrich the oligarchs, reduce access to health care for the poor, limit inclusion of minority groups in businesses and start a war of questionable value.

We have seen the Supreme Court become a puppet of the president by granting him unlimited powers (our entire constitution is based on no one person having unlimited powers. The whole point was to have no kings).

We have seen immigrants being grabbed from their homes and workplaces by a gestapo of masked men and being denied the rights that the constitution assures to all people.

We have seen the DOJ protecting the president (already a convicted sex offender) by sitting on the files which could show his guilt in an underage prostitution scandal.

NO, we are not celebrating.

America has lost its way.

We the people have lost our confidence that the way of life we cherish and celebrated fifty years ago will still prevail.

We are at a fork in the road. Let’s hope we choose the right one.

Joan Weaving embarked on a successful business career as the first woman Product Manager for Nabisco, Inc., and a Corporate Vice President for Equitable, before starting her own consulting company in 1988, specializing in leadership development and executive coaching for major corporations. Joan has been an active OLLI participant and has played a key role in the conceptualization and execution of the annual Board of Advisor’s retreat. Joan has led our Exploring Leadership Opportunities class.