Historic Times
Cross-posted at The Progressive Pulse.
Be careful what you wish for. I’ve always thought it would be cool to live in a historic time. For instance, I’ve always been slightly jealous of people who came of age in the 1960’s. The 60’s were riotous, radical, and revolutionary. Vietnam, civil rights, John and Martin and Bobby, Woodstock, Kent State, Haight-Ashbury and the Summer of Love, tie-dyed psychedelia...
...and then there was the music...
Me, I graduated from high school in 1977. If there is a less memorable period than the late 70’s and 80’s I’m not familiar with it. Bad hair (feathered mullet), bad clothes (polyester leisure suits), bad music (Bread, Bee Gee’s, England Dan and John Ford Coley), bad dancing (disco), bad TV (The Love Boat, The Brady Bunch), and bad miscellanea (pet rocks, mood rings, and Pong).
So clearly I have good reason to have decade envy. The 1960’s were the most notable decade for America since World War 2. Until now, that is. I suspect that generations from now, American historians will look back on the millennial decade and say, “What the hell were you people thinking?”
I believe that our decade will be remembered for our handling of two very different problems. The first is the so-called “Clash of Civilizations” between Islam and the West; and the second is climate change. Will history judge that we over-reacted to one crisis and under-reacted to the other? Will we be able to say that we acted bravely, wisely, and humanely? Will we be able to say that America was part of the problem, or part of the solution? Will we have thought globally, and acted locally?
These are historic times, alright, and not in a rose-colored granny glasses nostalgic sort of way. It’s easy to get caught up in the politics of the moment, but events are happening now that are moving these crises decisively forward. We may realize too late that a tipping point has occurred, and all we have left are a limited number of grave options.
Will we be able to tell our grandchildren that we did everything we could? (Hint: just noting that you didn’t vote for that guy either time is not going to get you off the hook.) Be careful what you wish for...living in historic times is not all it's cracked up to be. History reminds us that we have obligations and that we will be held accountable.
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Points! for Clarity
as someone only slightly older than you - I can't agree more. Your assessment is spot on.
Honestly - I was discussing the same observations with a friend earlier this week.
And as the Operator is wont to say: Please make a note of it.
Recommended.
You've just distilled into a few paragraphs the frustration that I've been feeling. I graduated in 1977 as well.
My dad used to say,
Wise words from Dad
I graduated high school in 1980. Not sure the 80s were any better than the 70s...except maybe some of the music. Then again, the Stones count in every decade.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.
I've been thinking about this a lot
and must honestly answer the question . . . no. No I am not and have not been doing all I can to keep the earth safe and further the cause of peace.
This is good food for thought.
Front-paged by me.
As for the 60's
It was real nice when you could quit looking in the mail box for that draft notice that would send you to the rice paddies.
No kidding
my number was single digits . . . three, I think.
You dare call Pong bad!!!!
I couldn't even read the rest.
Pong, bad!!!
No, Pong good.
John Edwards is great!
- Sam Spencer, BlueNC, 7/3/07
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Not all bad.
Class of 76. There was MASH and Saturday Night Live. We also had The Doobie Brothers, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Marshall Tucker, and, importantly, Jimmy Buffett.
As to clothes, hair, and dance - I got nuttin.
70's music
definitely better than 80's. :)
But Betsy's right, the Stones count in every decade. I went to their "last tour" sometime in the 80's, I think. Hee.
Actually, I Iiked Pong, too.
I've been wanting to work Pong into a post for awhile now, and this seemed like a convenient vehicle.
my first video game
John Edwards is great!
- Sam Spencer, BlueNC, 7/3/07
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
What I've learned in 61 years
I came to political consciousness when Eisenhower was President. Among the first television I ever saw was Eisenhower being nominated in 1952. (Motels had a single television then, and all the lodgers gathered in the television room. I lived through the 60s. And I lived through Watergate. And I lived through the Reagan and Bush administrations. And I lived through the hunting of a President. And now I'm living through another historical moment.
Here is what I've learned. Every moment is a historical moment. Every one.
And "May you live in interesting times." is reputed to be a curse.
The agenda that this era will be remembered for is whether we chose the preservation of the planet over the preservation of obsolete industries, whether we chose peace over war, whether we chose democracy over the unitary executive, and whether we chose cultural freedom over religious-tinged orthodoxy. I would suggest that those are exactly the agenda that was aborted by the failure of Democrats to be democratic in 1968 and the failure after that of progressives to realize the making things worse would not hasten any sort of progress, much less a revolution.
50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts, 59 million pissed-off Kerry voters
50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts
Since We're Sharing -
My first 'political memory' was John Kennedy getting shot. I was riding my tricycle in the house and I heard it on the television. I pedaled furiously into the kitchen and told my mom. (of course, she didn't believe me ... at first). Me? I was just watching a parade on TV while I rode...somewhat.
Watergate This is where my political consciousness really begins. What a business that was! Was I old enough to do anything about it? Heck, no. 4th & 5th grade? I don't think so.
I trusted the adults in the world to take care of that particular problem. They fell down on the job. Guess what? Now I'm an adult and I tell my child often, 'I'm working to secure your future.'
We won't get fooled again.
Vietnam, anyone? It started before I was old enough to know - it ended when I was old enough to go.
How many - how many of my potential lovers, husbands, friends did you murder in that insane war?
How many - how many people that I did meet were and are still lost because of that debacle? Can we count that high?
You've got one typo in your post:
that's supposed to be:
because he uses it to piss on the Constitution.
May we all survive our 'interesting times'
Can I get a witness?
Question for PartieLion
PartieLion, I was with you all the way up until :
"the failure after that of progressives to realize the making things worse would not hasten any sort of progress, much less a revolution."
Please clarify.