This is a long post, but I hope you will stay with it.
Since it is a political season with the upcoming elections taking place in six months, it is important that voters understand how their vote will affect their own interests, but also how it will influence the history of our country, and our planet.
I often wonder what would have happened if Senator Goldwater had won the 1964 presidential election. Would the United States have bombed Vietnam into oblivion, like Goldwater’s political enemies wanted us to believe? Or would the war have ended sooner, with fewer American lives lost? Would anything have changed?
And then there was 1968, when Richard Nixon was elected president. What if Hubert Humphrey had won that election? Would our lives have turned out any different? Certainly, the Watergate scandal wouldn’t have taken place. Still, I have to wonder about the enormous secrets that our government kept from us during the sixties, and how some of the worst finally became public in the early seventies. Would the shame have been any different?
For so many years I felt disenfranchised from the election process. We moved a lot because of my husband’s military career, and sometimes we landed in the middle of a conservative community, while the next move might put us in a more liberal setting. And I didn’t have a voice. My voting opportunities were limited because of not being able to register to vote in many of the places we lived. Things are different now, but then, military spouses were discouraged from becoming part of the communities where they lived. Yet, those communities were where I went to school and worked.
While then, it was confusing to be pulled politically in two different directions, I learned a lot and have been truly blessed to have had so conflicting influences on my life and political views.
What I can’t really comprehend is how this election seems to be attracting voters who hold extremist views. I believe that a person can only hold extremist ideas if they haven’t been exposed to the thoughts, ideas, and lifestyles of a variety of people—conservatives and liberals, rich and poor, educated and not. Maybe knowing the concerns and feelings of both sides gives me a more middle-of-the-road attitude. Still, the far right wing of the Republican party, which seems to have seized control of that party, would probably believe that I’m a wild-eyed liberal because I respect the views of liberals. And the far-left liberals would likely think that I’m a rabid conservative because, basically, I respect conservative values.
I’ve decided to lay out my views for readers, because my feeling is that MOST AMERICANS are caught somewhere in the middle, just as I am. I was raised in a conservative family and still hold conservative values, but unlike many of today's conservatives, ours was a family that believed it was our moral duty to help those less fortunate than us, no matter what their color, religion, or political beliefs. Today, it's impossible for me to buy into the extremist ideals held by those now in control of the Republican Party.
In the first place, as I see it, the conservative view that everyone has personal responsibility for their own and their family’s lives is morally wrong. I realize that it is impossible for people living in poverty to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, because many, many Americans don’t even own a pair of boots. Yes, sometimes someone does overcome overwhelming odds to become successful. Yet, how can the average person who is underpaid, under housed, and undernourished be expected to lift themselves out of poverty without help—a little boost up, or just plain luck? You see, I’ve known these people in places like Hawaii, California, Arizona, Washington, Texas, and Arkansas, and some are my friends.
I believe that it is the moral responsibility for the wealthy to help those who are less well-off. But experience tells me that many won’t. I’ve known these people in Hawaii, California, Arizona, Washington, Texas, and Arkansas, and some are my friends. The only way some will help those less fortunate is by being taxed. And yeah, they don’t like that—but we no longer live in a socially responsible society where all individuals voluntarily help the less fortunate.
There was a time when rich and poor lived in the same communities—sometimes side by side—so helping a neighbor in need was hard to ignore. But now, the rich segregate themselves behind iron gates so they don’t have to ever come face-to-face with a family that is struggling to get by. And the wealthy certainly don’t make it a habit to drive through the communities where homeless people roam the streets. "See no pain, feel no pain" seems to be the current mantra of the wealthy and upwardly mobile.
And some politicians live the lives of the rich and powerful, so don't have a clue what the real world is like. Just today I heard Senator McCain say he wants a healthcare system that will give each person $2500, or a couple or family $5000 to buy insurance on the open market. It sounds commendable, but there are several problems with his plan.
1. First and foremost, $5000 will not begin to pay the cost of health insurance for the average family.
2. Many people who lack health insurance, don’t have it because they can’t get it at any cost. Anyone with a pre-existing condition is refused insurance coverage, period. McCain’s plan doesn’t address this situation.
3. Those who retire before sixty-five face having no healthcare coverage until they turn sixty-five and get Medicare. Of those who had coverage when they worked, most lose it when they retire. And this happens during a period when chronic health problems typically crop up. I can’t even begin to enumerate the number of people I know personally who discovered they had serious illnesses immediately after they retired—long before Medicare kicked in—and long before they thought they might be stricken with diseases like cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s, diabetes.
4. McCain's plan will only help insurance companies make more money with less state regulation, since he wants health insurance companies to be able to sell cross state lines! Gee, a politician doing something to help his rich business friends? Surely not!
Letting the profit-oriented marketplace become the dumping ground for everyone who needs healthcare will never work because it is profit-oriented. Private companies will never grant healthcare coverage to those who have pre-existing conditions, or are at risk for serious illnesses. So a government-based healthcare plan seems to be the only solution. And for those who claim that government-based healthcare will not work, let me tell you what it’s like.
For all the years we were in the military, and even following retirement, government healthcare was the only type of medical care we ever had. And for the most part, it was extremely good. In fact, since we are now getting healthcare on the open market, we’re finding that private physicians are much less caring, and in many cases, not as skilled. But we do have coverage now—the same as all people over sixty-five. And if we could find healthcare professionals as good as those military doctors we once had, we would have no complaints whatsoever.
Because of the reasons stated above about my having been exposed to, and friends with, people of every race, economic class, and educational level, and a few other reasons, I now hold a broader view of subjects like politics and healthcare than when I was younger. I do believe that society owes all its members basic healthcare, help in securing a good education, and social programs that aid those in need. And now I realize that who I vote for in the presidential race will have a lasting impact on society, including whether we all can live a humane existence, or whether some of us will suffer further deprivation because our tax dollars are used to wage war and wreak destruction in far-off countries instead of providing much-needed services to our young, poor and elderly.
For too many years since I reached adulthood, war profiteers have grown wealthier as our government awarded them billion-dollar contracts, while the young, poor, and less educated of our citizens have lost their lives fighting senseless battles. History was being made then, and it’s being made even now, as you read this. And it’s not always just or good. It’s up to each of us to vote our conscience, and not just for our own selfish concerns. We must remember that elections impact not only you and me, but millions of Americans, and indeed, the billions who inhabit our planet.
And yet, in spite of my beliefs about voting for a person that I think can best rule the country, I have faith that whoever gets elected, it is God’s will, and the world will evolve as God intends.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
WHY YOU AND I MUST KNOW HISTORY
"History is knowledge." This is a phrase I wouldn’t have understood back when I was in school because I could not see how history related to my life. Knowing who the signers of the Declaration of Independence were would give me knowledge? Knowing what year the Civil War started and ended was important to me and my life? Why?
What I didn’t understand then was that knowing history WOULD give me knowledge, and power. The dates wars started and ended were not important, in and of themselves. But knowing history put the dates in context, and that was what was important. What was going on in the world when a war started? Why was it fought? Who were the good people and who were the bad? Those were the facts I really needed to learn.
As I remember History 101, it was all about names and dates, and stories that proved the United States government was always on the right side—but was that true? Were our leaders on the right side when they shoved Native Americans off their land so the white man could claim the treasures buried there? Were they right to choose to fight Communism in South Vietnam? Are they right now to initiate a war in Iraq based on the lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that they were harboring terrorists?
That, dear friends, is why history is knowledge. Knowing that our government leaders should always be questioned can come only from knowing history. They’re not perfect—and neither are we—no one is! But those of us who lived through the Vietnam War, then followed the news and studied government reports following the war, have learned this lesson. Those of us who lost loved ones in the war, learned the lesson the hard way.
From recent history, I can only discern that many of our citizens have not studied history thoroughly, and history teachers are failing to teach all of the facts about history. Okay, teachers do have a lot of information to cover, and they often teach from books that don’t cover everything. But I feel it is their responsibility to learn the facts and teach them, even though their textbooks may be lacking. Do they read newspapers? Do they read historical books outside the textbook they’re teaching from? Do they even watch the news or documentaries on television?
Well pardon me, but I believe there is a responsibility to future leaders and voters of America to be taught the facts behind history. We all bring our own beliefs to our jobs, be it teaching, as a journalist, or as a parent, but every one who impacts the young in any way has a responsibility to learn the true facts and teach or write them. Not our truth, which may lack depth or be lopsided, but the TRUE and COMPLETE FACTS.
The future of our country depends on those youngsters now learning about the history of their country knowing what really happened. They, like us, can’t make rational decisions on things like: how will this new legislation affect my life in the long run? Which candidate will work to improve the lives of all Americans? Which one will bow to special interests, like the war profiteers, or big business? Will bowing to them negatively affect my own family’s lifestyle, our dreams, my retirement?
We must know what has happened in the past to understand what will happen again in the future, because history does repeat itself. The economy? It’s all been played out before. The war? Well we’ve certainly been there before—and not too long ago!
Unless we all make it our mission to read, watch the news, and study the history we don’t remember or never learned, we have no one to blame but ourselves when the American dream turns, instead, into a nightmare.
What I didn’t understand then was that knowing history WOULD give me knowledge, and power. The dates wars started and ended were not important, in and of themselves. But knowing history put the dates in context, and that was what was important. What was going on in the world when a war started? Why was it fought? Who were the good people and who were the bad? Those were the facts I really needed to learn.
As I remember History 101, it was all about names and dates, and stories that proved the United States government was always on the right side—but was that true? Were our leaders on the right side when they shoved Native Americans off their land so the white man could claim the treasures buried there? Were they right to choose to fight Communism in South Vietnam? Are they right now to initiate a war in Iraq based on the lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that they were harboring terrorists?
That, dear friends, is why history is knowledge. Knowing that our government leaders should always be questioned can come only from knowing history. They’re not perfect—and neither are we—no one is! But those of us who lived through the Vietnam War, then followed the news and studied government reports following the war, have learned this lesson. Those of us who lost loved ones in the war, learned the lesson the hard way.
From recent history, I can only discern that many of our citizens have not studied history thoroughly, and history teachers are failing to teach all of the facts about history. Okay, teachers do have a lot of information to cover, and they often teach from books that don’t cover everything. But I feel it is their responsibility to learn the facts and teach them, even though their textbooks may be lacking. Do they read newspapers? Do they read historical books outside the textbook they’re teaching from? Do they even watch the news or documentaries on television?
Well pardon me, but I believe there is a responsibility to future leaders and voters of America to be taught the facts behind history. We all bring our own beliefs to our jobs, be it teaching, as a journalist, or as a parent, but every one who impacts the young in any way has a responsibility to learn the true facts and teach or write them. Not our truth, which may lack depth or be lopsided, but the TRUE and COMPLETE FACTS.
The future of our country depends on those youngsters now learning about the history of their country knowing what really happened. They, like us, can’t make rational decisions on things like: how will this new legislation affect my life in the long run? Which candidate will work to improve the lives of all Americans? Which one will bow to special interests, like the war profiteers, or big business? Will bowing to them negatively affect my own family’s lifestyle, our dreams, my retirement?
We must know what has happened in the past to understand what will happen again in the future, because history does repeat itself. The economy? It’s all been played out before. The war? Well we’ve certainly been there before—and not too long ago!
Unless we all make it our mission to read, watch the news, and study the history we don’t remember or never learned, we have no one to blame but ourselves when the American dream turns, instead, into a nightmare.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Where Were You in the '60s?
As the ‘60s wound to a devastating close, 1968 turned into a counterculture clash against the establishment. The 1968 democratic convention was without a popular peace candidate or leader since Robert Kennedy had been killed, and those in the counterculture did not support Lyndon Johnson’s vice president in his bid for the nomination since he was a hawk on the war. Still, the young, including those under 21 and too young to vote, wanted their voices heard in the election since it was their generation being drafted and forced to fight in Vietnam. So many of them were being killed, or maimed, or losing their minds and souls after witnessing so much violence and devastation in a land far from home.
The differences between the generations came from many issues, but none more divisive than the draft. Many young men who couldn’t afford a college education and the draft deferment it offered, or who had already graduated from college, were moving to Canada to escape being drafted. Those who had already served a tour in Vietnam and didn’t want to return to the killing fields, and those who disagreed with our government’s war policies and inequalities, often deserted from the military and sought political asylum in Canada.
Government officials and the press cursed the young men who tried to avoid the draft or deserted, while their own sons enjoyed the privilege of dodging the draft without question or comment. Some young men having parents or friends with political influence, and who were already graduated from college, used that influence to get into the National Guard or Reserves, which seldom saw service in Vietnam. This was how George W. Bush and others in the current administration escaped service in Vietnam.
To say the war was an unequal opportunity, in many cases dividing the rich from the poor, would be an understatement. While most of the rich and influential sat at home enjoying life as they had always known it, the mostly poor and black young men of our country were forced to fight in the rice paddies and jungles far from home.
As the democratic convention started in Chicago in 1968, thousands of young people who resisted the war had gathered around the convention center for a massive demonstration. However, the police in Chicago were ready for them and used bayonets, tear gas, and other force to attack the demonstrators. At least one demonstrator was reported killed and hundreds were injured, including press members, medical workers, and police.
Hubert Humphrey became the Democratic nominee for president that year, while Richard Nixon was the Republican nominee. Both were disliked by many, if not most, of the voting public, but especially by the young. The decade ended with Nixon being elected president, which eventually lead to challenges to the Constitution and one of the nation’s biggest political scandals—and to the determination of the Republican Party to further challenge the Constitution in the future, and to take steps to enforce its control over the politics of the country.
While many young people were actively involved in the counterculture movement, or in the hippie movement back to the land, or in the civil rights movement, others of us were passively watching on the sidelines. In my case, I never participated in a demonstration, but I slowly but surely began to believe in the cause of the counterculture, as did those in the older generation of my family whose guidance, intelligence, and belief in God had always influenced me. They read, and they studied issues, just as I did, and they, like I, came to believe that things were no longer right in the United States of America.
My own beliefs came from a different place than most others under 30. Being the wife of a military (by choice) man, I was informed in 1964 that I couldn’t actively take part in the political campaign of a presidential nominee. Since we had orders to leave a few days before Election Day, I was not allowed to vote by absentee ballot, so I wasn’t allowed to vote in that election. Then by 1968, we lived on a military base and I was told that since I was not a resident of the State where we were stationed, I couldn’t vote. I was a citizen of the U.S., and my family had been here since before the Revolutionary War, yet I was denied the right to vote. Still, I had every right to become angry about the political situation, just as every citizen did. After all, my husband was actively serving his country!
Would my one vote have made any difference? NO! But, like many others in this country then, and now, I didn’t even have a voice. Maybe all of our votes together would have somehow made a difference.
The ‘60s changed my perceptions of my country and its leaders. My conservative background kept me from actively participating, but the drama of that decade changed the way I looked at politics and its influence on all of our lives. Our democracy was being threatened then, and it is even more under threat now, and it is up to every one of us to stay vigilant so that the forces that shaped the ‘60s never exist again. Still, I’m afraid that those very forces exist today, yet the avenues to protest them or control them have been closed by a media owned by only 6 major media giants, and controlled by our current government.
If steps are pursued to bring the Internet under the control of those few voices, and that attempt is progressing as I write this, I fear that we individual citizens will have all lost our voices. Without the sound of every voice of every citizen, there is no democracy!
Remember that Communism succeeded for so long because the press was limited and allowed only the government’s voice to be heard. Hitler and the Nazis were successful because only their voice and message was allowed to be heard. The only way for any evil empire to succeed is by limiting the type of news (the message) that its people are exposed to.
What can we, as individuals, do? I don’t have any answers. As a journalist, I am skilled at asking questions, and I’m capable of seeing what is wrong with our society, but the problems are so complex now that I don’t have any solutions to offer. Speak out, and you’re branded as a traitor. Question the status quo, and you’re branded as a troublemaker. Well, I’m neither a traitor nor a troublemaker, but I do care that our country continues as a free democracy, and that our Constitution is upheld and respected. Democracy has never been more threatened than it is right now.
I can offer only two suggestions:
1. Each and every one of us should READ the Constitution so that we understand what it says. It’s important that we all know what our forefathers wrote so we can ensure the continuance of the democracy that they fought so hard to establish.
2. Read the book, 1984, by George Orwell. In it you will find the playbook for the way our own lives are being manipulated today, right here in America. Scary? You bet!
God Bless America!
The differences between the generations came from many issues, but none more divisive than the draft. Many young men who couldn’t afford a college education and the draft deferment it offered, or who had already graduated from college, were moving to Canada to escape being drafted. Those who had already served a tour in Vietnam and didn’t want to return to the killing fields, and those who disagreed with our government’s war policies and inequalities, often deserted from the military and sought political asylum in Canada.
Government officials and the press cursed the young men who tried to avoid the draft or deserted, while their own sons enjoyed the privilege of dodging the draft without question or comment. Some young men having parents or friends with political influence, and who were already graduated from college, used that influence to get into the National Guard or Reserves, which seldom saw service in Vietnam. This was how George W. Bush and others in the current administration escaped service in Vietnam.
To say the war was an unequal opportunity, in many cases dividing the rich from the poor, would be an understatement. While most of the rich and influential sat at home enjoying life as they had always known it, the mostly poor and black young men of our country were forced to fight in the rice paddies and jungles far from home.
As the democratic convention started in Chicago in 1968, thousands of young people who resisted the war had gathered around the convention center for a massive demonstration. However, the police in Chicago were ready for them and used bayonets, tear gas, and other force to attack the demonstrators. At least one demonstrator was reported killed and hundreds were injured, including press members, medical workers, and police.
Hubert Humphrey became the Democratic nominee for president that year, while Richard Nixon was the Republican nominee. Both were disliked by many, if not most, of the voting public, but especially by the young. The decade ended with Nixon being elected president, which eventually lead to challenges to the Constitution and one of the nation’s biggest political scandals—and to the determination of the Republican Party to further challenge the Constitution in the future, and to take steps to enforce its control over the politics of the country.
While many young people were actively involved in the counterculture movement, or in the hippie movement back to the land, or in the civil rights movement, others of us were passively watching on the sidelines. In my case, I never participated in a demonstration, but I slowly but surely began to believe in the cause of the counterculture, as did those in the older generation of my family whose guidance, intelligence, and belief in God had always influenced me. They read, and they studied issues, just as I did, and they, like I, came to believe that things were no longer right in the United States of America.
My own beliefs came from a different place than most others under 30. Being the wife of a military (by choice) man, I was informed in 1964 that I couldn’t actively take part in the political campaign of a presidential nominee. Since we had orders to leave a few days before Election Day, I was not allowed to vote by absentee ballot, so I wasn’t allowed to vote in that election. Then by 1968, we lived on a military base and I was told that since I was not a resident of the State where we were stationed, I couldn’t vote. I was a citizen of the U.S., and my family had been here since before the Revolutionary War, yet I was denied the right to vote. Still, I had every right to become angry about the political situation, just as every citizen did. After all, my husband was actively serving his country!
Would my one vote have made any difference? NO! But, like many others in this country then, and now, I didn’t even have a voice. Maybe all of our votes together would have somehow made a difference.
The ‘60s changed my perceptions of my country and its leaders. My conservative background kept me from actively participating, but the drama of that decade changed the way I looked at politics and its influence on all of our lives. Our democracy was being threatened then, and it is even more under threat now, and it is up to every one of us to stay vigilant so that the forces that shaped the ‘60s never exist again. Still, I’m afraid that those very forces exist today, yet the avenues to protest them or control them have been closed by a media owned by only 6 major media giants, and controlled by our current government.
If steps are pursued to bring the Internet under the control of those few voices, and that attempt is progressing as I write this, I fear that we individual citizens will have all lost our voices. Without the sound of every voice of every citizen, there is no democracy!
Remember that Communism succeeded for so long because the press was limited and allowed only the government’s voice to be heard. Hitler and the Nazis were successful because only their voice and message was allowed to be heard. The only way for any evil empire to succeed is by limiting the type of news (the message) that its people are exposed to.
What can we, as individuals, do? I don’t have any answers. As a journalist, I am skilled at asking questions, and I’m capable of seeing what is wrong with our society, but the problems are so complex now that I don’t have any solutions to offer. Speak out, and you’re branded as a traitor. Question the status quo, and you’re branded as a troublemaker. Well, I’m neither a traitor nor a troublemaker, but I do care that our country continues as a free democracy, and that our Constitution is upheld and respected. Democracy has never been more threatened than it is right now.
I can offer only two suggestions:
1. Each and every one of us should READ the Constitution so that we understand what it says. It’s important that we all know what our forefathers wrote so we can ensure the continuance of the democracy that they fought so hard to establish.
2. Read the book, 1984, by George Orwell. In it you will find the playbook for the way our own lives are being manipulated today, right here in America. Scary? You bet!
God Bless America!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Anti-war Movement, More Assassinations, the Counterculture, and the “Make Love, Not War” Generation
The boomers would become known as the “Make Love, Not War” generation as the ‘60s evolved from frightening nuclear crises and an assassination, to active involvement by boomers, then to dropping-out of society.
To say all boomers became involved in changing society would not be true. Many followed the paths of their more complacent parents, and showed mild to no interest in the rapidly changing political climate. Many others scorned the protestors. But a large number were frightened, stunned, embarrassed by the status quo, and then driven to take an active role in changing the world. While this movement looked huge as it was shown on television, no one knows the actual number of boomers and others who became involved in the counterculture and anti-war movement, or how involved they were.
Still, this movement helped end a terrible, destructive war that should never have been entered into. From the beginning of U.S. involvement, President Eisenhower had stated that French involvement in the conflict was hopeless. Yet, that didn’t stop him from sending aid to the French, including money and military advisors. That finally led to thousands of young American soldiers fighting and dying in the jungles and rice paddies. Why? How? The first two Americans died in July, 1959 in an attack 20 miles north of Saigon.
As protests continued and grew in size and scope, it became politically imperative for some politicians to represent their cause. Robert F. Kennedy, younger brother of President John F. Kennedy who had served as Attorney General under both Kennedy and Johnson, and then elected a senator from New York, decided to run as an anti-war presidential candidate in 1968. As he celebrated his victory in the California democratic primary before heading to the democratic convention in Chicago, he was shot by assassin Sirhan B. Sirhan. The next day, he died, and with him the hopes of millions who counted on him to be the president who would bring peace to the country.
But two months before Kennedy’s death, Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee where he had gone to support striking sanitation workers. His assassination stunned the nation and demoralized those fighting in the civil rights movement, most of who were also involved in the anti-war movement. Dr. King had called the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,” as he spoke out against U.S. policy in Vietnam and suggested a merger of the anti-war and civil rights movement. Yet, he preached non-violence, and was the leading spokesman for the civil rights movement.
The boomer generation involved in marching for the rights of those less fortunate, including young men drafted into the military and forced to fight an unpopular war, watched as their hopes and dreams were buried along with their two leaders. Is it any wonder that many were angry and confused, and subsequently turned to drugs to numb their pain?
Communal living and turning their backs on society seemed the only answer to their pain. Participating in society seemed hopeless, so why continue to support it?
To say all boomers became involved in changing society would not be true. Many followed the paths of their more complacent parents, and showed mild to no interest in the rapidly changing political climate. Many others scorned the protestors. But a large number were frightened, stunned, embarrassed by the status quo, and then driven to take an active role in changing the world. While this movement looked huge as it was shown on television, no one knows the actual number of boomers and others who became involved in the counterculture and anti-war movement, or how involved they were.
Still, this movement helped end a terrible, destructive war that should never have been entered into. From the beginning of U.S. involvement, President Eisenhower had stated that French involvement in the conflict was hopeless. Yet, that didn’t stop him from sending aid to the French, including money and military advisors. That finally led to thousands of young American soldiers fighting and dying in the jungles and rice paddies. Why? How? The first two Americans died in July, 1959 in an attack 20 miles north of Saigon.
As protests continued and grew in size and scope, it became politically imperative for some politicians to represent their cause. Robert F. Kennedy, younger brother of President John F. Kennedy who had served as Attorney General under both Kennedy and Johnson, and then elected a senator from New York, decided to run as an anti-war presidential candidate in 1968. As he celebrated his victory in the California democratic primary before heading to the democratic convention in Chicago, he was shot by assassin Sirhan B. Sirhan. The next day, he died, and with him the hopes of millions who counted on him to be the president who would bring peace to the country.
But two months before Kennedy’s death, Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee where he had gone to support striking sanitation workers. His assassination stunned the nation and demoralized those fighting in the civil rights movement, most of who were also involved in the anti-war movement. Dr. King had called the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,” as he spoke out against U.S. policy in Vietnam and suggested a merger of the anti-war and civil rights movement. Yet, he preached non-violence, and was the leading spokesman for the civil rights movement.
The boomer generation involved in marching for the rights of those less fortunate, including young men drafted into the military and forced to fight an unpopular war, watched as their hopes and dreams were buried along with their two leaders. Is it any wonder that many were angry and confused, and subsequently turned to drugs to numb their pain?
Communal living and turning their backs on society seemed the only answer to their pain. Participating in society seemed hopeless, so why continue to support it?
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The ‘60s – Racism, Poverty, and Assassinations
The ‘60s were the most tumultuous in recent history—and possibly in all of history. Certainly, none of us expected the decade to become a defining period in our lives. The emotional experience of living through the ‘60s remains like a fresh wound forever etched upon my mind—as if it happened only yesterday.
As the ‘60s dawned, we were already faced with the possibility of nuclear annihilation because of the Cold War. Children were afraid that they might not grow up. Young people worried about what they could do to improve relationships between countries. Newlyweds were concerned about bringing babies into a world so frightening. And around all this turmoil swirled growing concerns about civil rights for blacks.
The boomers were ready to become involved in the political and social climate of the country because the future didn’t look at all promising. Most were brought up in middle class households with televisions that brought the world into their living rooms. They were raised with plenty of material possessions, yet they could see that others in their own country were doing without even basic necessities or rights. And a young, energetic presidential hopeful, John F. Kennedy, inspired them to “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
Music became a rallying call for the young. After all, music was important to this first generation raised with rock ‘n’ roll. Rebelliousness had already become evident in the ‘50s, as some music concerned parents because of its suggestive lyrics and dance moves. And some youngsters were inspired to join the jazz and folk scene in New York and San Francisco.
Musicians began to explore writing and performing songs that inspired social change, and the folk revival was born. Suddenly songs had a message about freedom, justice, love for one another, and as the Vietnam War heated up, against war. Freedom marches were held throughout the South to help black citizens register to vote, and to realize that their participation in the process would ensure power. White youngsters went South to help organize civil rights marches, and as a result, some were tortured and murdered by racists who resisted change.
The Vietnam War was heating up during the early ‘60s, but little attention was paid to it at first. Meanwhile, in 1961, a group of Cubans who had relocated to the U.S. after Castro took over their homeland, tried to invade Cuba to free their country from Castro’s rule. Known as the “Bay of Pigs,” this failure led to even further Cold War crises. In October, 1962, Russia tried to supply Cuba with long-range missiles, which created the Cuban Missile Crisis and almost started a nuclear war. A blockade of ships carrying the missiles was enforced by President John F. Kennedy, and eventually they reversed course and headed back to Russia.
Most civilians were aware of the crisis and concerned about the outcome, but few were as terrified as military families, who had been directed to evacuate to underground bomb shelters. I was one of those who chose to stay put, knowing that there could not be a positive outcome to any nuclear attack, and that being in a shelter would only prolong the suffering. Luckily, that crisis passed, but it was the most frightening moment during the Cold War.
Then in November, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade through Dallas. One man was charged with the assassination, but conspiracy theories abound to this day. It seemed impossible that a man as inconsequential as Lee Harvey Oswald would be capable of creating so terrible a blow to the morale of the U.S.
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President on the flight of Kennedy’s body back to D.C., and soon he had escalated the war in Vietnam. He seemed to sincerely want to get a civil rights bill passed to ensure equality among all races, and to get legislation passed that would help all poor and elderly citizens. He finally pushed through the civil rights legislation, and he launched a War on Poverty. During his term in office, the Medicare Bill was passed, ensuring health care coverage for all Americans over sixty-five years.
Johnson was never as popular as Kennedy had been because he was seen as an interloper without the charm or sophistication of Kennedy. But Johnson was doomed mostly because of his support of the war in Vietnam.
As the ‘60s dawned, we were already faced with the possibility of nuclear annihilation because of the Cold War. Children were afraid that they might not grow up. Young people worried about what they could do to improve relationships between countries. Newlyweds were concerned about bringing babies into a world so frightening. And around all this turmoil swirled growing concerns about civil rights for blacks.
The boomers were ready to become involved in the political and social climate of the country because the future didn’t look at all promising. Most were brought up in middle class households with televisions that brought the world into their living rooms. They were raised with plenty of material possessions, yet they could see that others in their own country were doing without even basic necessities or rights. And a young, energetic presidential hopeful, John F. Kennedy, inspired them to “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
Music became a rallying call for the young. After all, music was important to this first generation raised with rock ‘n’ roll. Rebelliousness had already become evident in the ‘50s, as some music concerned parents because of its suggestive lyrics and dance moves. And some youngsters were inspired to join the jazz and folk scene in New York and San Francisco.
Musicians began to explore writing and performing songs that inspired social change, and the folk revival was born. Suddenly songs had a message about freedom, justice, love for one another, and as the Vietnam War heated up, against war. Freedom marches were held throughout the South to help black citizens register to vote, and to realize that their participation in the process would ensure power. White youngsters went South to help organize civil rights marches, and as a result, some were tortured and murdered by racists who resisted change.
The Vietnam War was heating up during the early ‘60s, but little attention was paid to it at first. Meanwhile, in 1961, a group of Cubans who had relocated to the U.S. after Castro took over their homeland, tried to invade Cuba to free their country from Castro’s rule. Known as the “Bay of Pigs,” this failure led to even further Cold War crises. In October, 1962, Russia tried to supply Cuba with long-range missiles, which created the Cuban Missile Crisis and almost started a nuclear war. A blockade of ships carrying the missiles was enforced by President John F. Kennedy, and eventually they reversed course and headed back to Russia.
Most civilians were aware of the crisis and concerned about the outcome, but few were as terrified as military families, who had been directed to evacuate to underground bomb shelters. I was one of those who chose to stay put, knowing that there could not be a positive outcome to any nuclear attack, and that being in a shelter would only prolong the suffering. Luckily, that crisis passed, but it was the most frightening moment during the Cold War.
Then in November, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade through Dallas. One man was charged with the assassination, but conspiracy theories abound to this day. It seemed impossible that a man as inconsequential as Lee Harvey Oswald would be capable of creating so terrible a blow to the morale of the U.S.
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President on the flight of Kennedy’s body back to D.C., and soon he had escalated the war in Vietnam. He seemed to sincerely want to get a civil rights bill passed to ensure equality among all races, and to get legislation passed that would help all poor and elderly citizens. He finally pushed through the civil rights legislation, and he launched a War on Poverty. During his term in office, the Medicare Bill was passed, ensuring health care coverage for all Americans over sixty-five years.
Johnson was never as popular as Kennedy had been because he was seen as an interloper without the charm or sophistication of Kennedy. But Johnson was doomed mostly because of his support of the war in Vietnam.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING ABOUT "LOOKING BACK"
The following review appeared in “Escapees Magazine,” January, 2008
“There is a quotation, often attributed to the Chinese: ‘May you live in interesting times.’ It is said that this may be a curse; I leave it to each person to determine whether it is a curse or not. But no one can deny that the years since 1940 have been very interesting, indeed. Time seems to have flown by, but that time was filled with extraordinary historical events. This period of history is so aptly presented in Kay Kennedy’s latest book, Looking Back: Boomers Remember History from the ‘40s to the Present.
This thoughtful book had me remembering many things from my own lifetime, from the usual, ‘Where were you when Kennedy was shot?’ question to long suppressed memories of hiding under my third-grade desk in practice for a bombing attack. The human consequences of historic moments are vividly recalled (author’s note: by 20 contributors) in this extraordinary book. We are defined by the events of our lives, and each of these writers presents their memories in wonderful, sometimes heartbreaking, detail.
Kay precedes each section of the book with an overview of the highlights of a past decade and a final brief chapter on the future.
I found this book very enjoyable. It was fun remembering personal recollections that I share with others. Even more interesting was experiencing stories of past events that I would have no possibility of experiencing such as a soldier’s memory of a Vietnam battle.”
To read an excerpt or order a copy of the book, "Looking Back," click on link on right.
“There is a quotation, often attributed to the Chinese: ‘May you live in interesting times.’ It is said that this may be a curse; I leave it to each person to determine whether it is a curse or not. But no one can deny that the years since 1940 have been very interesting, indeed. Time seems to have flown by, but that time was filled with extraordinary historical events. This period of history is so aptly presented in Kay Kennedy’s latest book, Looking Back: Boomers Remember History from the ‘40s to the Present.
This thoughtful book had me remembering many things from my own lifetime, from the usual, ‘Where were you when Kennedy was shot?’ question to long suppressed memories of hiding under my third-grade desk in practice for a bombing attack. The human consequences of historic moments are vividly recalled (author’s note: by 20 contributors) in this extraordinary book. We are defined by the events of our lives, and each of these writers presents their memories in wonderful, sometimes heartbreaking, detail.
Kay precedes each section of the book with an overview of the highlights of a past decade and a final brief chapter on the future.
I found this book very enjoyable. It was fun remembering personal recollections that I share with others. Even more interesting was experiencing stories of past events that I would have no possibility of experiencing such as a soldier’s memory of a Vietnam battle.”
To read an excerpt or order a copy of the book, "Looking Back," click on link on right.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
THE '40s - THE NOBLE WAR YEARS
The chapters on the ‘50s and ‘60s from my book, Looking Back: Boomers Remember History from the '40s to the Present, have been covered in previous posts, so this time I will talk about the ‘40s. This was the decade that drastically changed the world, and it was the beginning of tremendous population growth as “baby boomers” fueled enormous changes in society.
In 1941, the United States joined the war against Japan when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor. Only days later, we also went to war against Germany, helping defend our allies in Europe and beyond. Thus we were thrust into World War II, and most able-bodied men left their homes and families to fight in either the Pacific or in Europe.
Most women stayed home, but a few went to war as nurses and support personnel. Those who stayed home rushed to fill the jobs left behind—especially those that were crucial to the war effort. Ships, airplanes, ammunition, uniforms, and numerous other commodities were vital to winning the war, and those industries had to be sustained. The working wife and mother became, for the first time, commonplace throughout the United States.
When you remember that America had just pulled out of the Great Depression of the ‘30s, when thousands of homeless people starved and froze to death because of lack of jobs, food, and shelter, it’s easy to understand the economic changes that engulfed the country during the war. Suddenly industry was humming as all of America's citizens rallied behind the war effort. Victory gardens were planted to help grow food for families. War bonds were sold to help raise money to fight the war. And rationing was also introduced to American consumers as gas, rubber, some foodstuffs, and other goods were in short supply.
(In the book: "Looking Back", Faye Crawford recalls the War years as a child growing up in Washington State. She remembers savings stamps and some of the shortages faced by her family, as well as her family members who served in the war.)
Laverne M. Brown remembers her parents volunteering to help watch for Japanese planes slipping across our coast from the watch tower in their small Oregon coastal town. Even with watch towers up and down the West coast, a Japanese submarine shelled a military depot at Fort Stevens, Oregon in June, 1942, and in September, 1942, a Japanese warplane bombed Mt. Emily, Oregon and ignited a forest fire. Incendiary bombs were also dropped near Brookings, Oregon.)
When the war ended the country was united in welcoming back its returning war heroes. American society was optimistic about the future and nothing seemed impossible. The war had served as a catalyst for new inventions, including technological advances that would change the world.
And when all those men returned home from the war, they married and started families. With optimism rampant throughout the country, the birth rate quickly expanded into the baby boom. New neighborhoods were built to hold these new families, and suddenly suburbs sprang up across the countryside. New shopping centers were built to service the ‘burbs, and people left the cities in droves to make their home in the new neighborhoods. Living outside of cities meant cars had to be purchased to commute to jobs in town and to drive children to school. New roads had to be built to move all that new traffic.
(In "Looking Back" Nola Rae Lewis recalls the G.I. Bill and its meaning to her after her husband-to-be returned from World War II. They met in college, which her husband attended on the G.I. Bill, and together they later purchased their home with a G.I. home loan guarantee.)
The ‘40s was a great decade with many high points, but it also heralded the start of the Cold War, a polio epidemic, UFO sightings, and various technological advances, social changes, and political scandals. I’ll cover those in the next posting. Meanwhile, you can read about the ‘40s and every decade since by ordering the book, Looking Back: Boomers Remember History from the ‘40s to the Present. Just click on the link below the book image to read an excerpt and to order.
In 1941, the United States joined the war against Japan when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor. Only days later, we also went to war against Germany, helping defend our allies in Europe and beyond. Thus we were thrust into World War II, and most able-bodied men left their homes and families to fight in either the Pacific or in Europe.
Most women stayed home, but a few went to war as nurses and support personnel. Those who stayed home rushed to fill the jobs left behind—especially those that were crucial to the war effort. Ships, airplanes, ammunition, uniforms, and numerous other commodities were vital to winning the war, and those industries had to be sustained. The working wife and mother became, for the first time, commonplace throughout the United States.
When you remember that America had just pulled out of the Great Depression of the ‘30s, when thousands of homeless people starved and froze to death because of lack of jobs, food, and shelter, it’s easy to understand the economic changes that engulfed the country during the war. Suddenly industry was humming as all of America's citizens rallied behind the war effort. Victory gardens were planted to help grow food for families. War bonds were sold to help raise money to fight the war. And rationing was also introduced to American consumers as gas, rubber, some foodstuffs, and other goods were in short supply.
(In the book: "Looking Back", Faye Crawford recalls the War years as a child growing up in Washington State. She remembers savings stamps and some of the shortages faced by her family, as well as her family members who served in the war.)
Laverne M. Brown remembers her parents volunteering to help watch for Japanese planes slipping across our coast from the watch tower in their small Oregon coastal town. Even with watch towers up and down the West coast, a Japanese submarine shelled a military depot at Fort Stevens, Oregon in June, 1942, and in September, 1942, a Japanese warplane bombed Mt. Emily, Oregon and ignited a forest fire. Incendiary bombs were also dropped near Brookings, Oregon.)
When the war ended the country was united in welcoming back its returning war heroes. American society was optimistic about the future and nothing seemed impossible. The war had served as a catalyst for new inventions, including technological advances that would change the world.
And when all those men returned home from the war, they married and started families. With optimism rampant throughout the country, the birth rate quickly expanded into the baby boom. New neighborhoods were built to hold these new families, and suddenly suburbs sprang up across the countryside. New shopping centers were built to service the ‘burbs, and people left the cities in droves to make their home in the new neighborhoods. Living outside of cities meant cars had to be purchased to commute to jobs in town and to drive children to school. New roads had to be built to move all that new traffic.
(In "Looking Back" Nola Rae Lewis recalls the G.I. Bill and its meaning to her after her husband-to-be returned from World War II. They met in college, which her husband attended on the G.I. Bill, and together they later purchased their home with a G.I. home loan guarantee.)
The ‘40s was a great decade with many high points, but it also heralded the start of the Cold War, a polio epidemic, UFO sightings, and various technological advances, social changes, and political scandals. I’ll cover those in the next posting. Meanwhile, you can read about the ‘40s and every decade since by ordering the book, Looking Back: Boomers Remember History from the ‘40s to the Present. Just click on the link below the book image to read an excerpt and to order.
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