You're off by a factor of two, maybe even three. 50 years only puts us at 1969 - 6 years after JFK. At a very minimum, the DS dates back 106 years to 1913 with the creation of the Fed & income tax.
Just 4 short years later, the USA is engaged in WWI; what a convoluted rationale that was. Of course, fed.gov could never tell the general population that our major (Fed Reserve) banks were all exposed due to Allied loans. If the Germans were to win - and they were winning handily - the USA would have essentially been dragged along in bankruptcy.
Now, if we want to really trace back the creation of a consolidated federal government which is essential to creating the foundation for a deep, entrenched state, look no further than 1861. But, no reason to go there since it's so wrought with emotional baggage.
Suffice it to say that conservatives are really no different than the "useful idiots" of the left. There's this deeply ingrained belief that somehow the great mass of people are actually in control of their own destiny. That the consent of the governed is essential to self determination, or that competition of ideas can effect change.
LOL. The only real truth is that you can't keep what you can't hold. If patriots are unwilling or unable to keep "their country", then it will be taken from them - by force. I'm still waiting for the day Trump has his Lincoln moment, when he realizes the enemy will never negotiate or act in good faith. Their end goal is to win: full stop.period.the end.
Thank you for this summary of the historical slide down the slippery slope. Unfortunately the first slip happened long before 1913 or 1861.
It was shortly after the Constitution was ratified when the Congress in 1801 refused to declare war as required by the Constitution and let the war power devolve to President Jefferson, who executed the war without the appropriate declaration. This terrible precedent has come back many times to haunt our country.
This was the first (as far as I know) mistake that along with many other mistakes over the following centuries (as pointed out by Semantic) has taken the real power of government from We the People to primarily benefit the Executive Branch.
The enormous power of the President and the 3 million bureaucrats that run that branch came at the cost to the people of many of the protections the Founders put in place to protect us.