"one thing amazing about that time was the optimism we shared. we were absolutely certain that the old order was fading and the new order was arising. "Then you'd better start sinking or you'll sink like a stone for the times they are a changing."
I will be 77 this summer. Strange sometimes to realize I've even managed to live this long. I'm glad, very glad, to have lived when I did. And of course, being born in New York, my citizenship was American, and, for all the faults, I was glad to be an American, living in that hopeful, innovative time. I was fortunate, true: I lived in California, where, in 1971 you could attend Berkeley for 150.00 a semester, thanks to Governor Brown Senior, who believed that higher education should be available to all young people. He also believe the schools needed to be integrated, and he did just that.
We were the largest highly educated generation this nation had ever had; indeed, we were probably the largest educated generation the world had ever seen. And look at the innovations of all kinds that flooded out of California!
As an adolescent I learned about the newly formed Peace Corps, and dreamed of joining it. As a teenager I saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. In my 20's I became part of the 2nd Wave of Feminism, and marched, and attended Consciousness Raising groups, and talked of Sisterhood, and saw the first Women's Shelters, and Rape Crisis Centers come to be. I saw women demanding entry into professions from which they had been banned, and I saw them get credit cards as well. I also saw the Civil Rights Movement change America, and later the Gay Rights movement. I saw the beginning of the Environmental Movement. I saw Universities open Consciousness Studies departments, and I saw the evolution of the New Age movement as well, with its introduction to metaphysics and world religions. We talked about, and practiced, Communalism, "living simply so others could simply live", and we became Vegetarians, demanding humane alternatives to factory farming of animals. We practiced re-cycling, and many of us "went back to the land" to learn about creating communities and growing our own food. Many of us returned to the cities eventually, but not all.
Yeah, what an optimistic time, and generation! Do I need to say how saddened I am by what I see has happened to my country now? Well, I'm saying it. Do I believe that even in the face of the corruption and disruption, there is still hope for change? Yes, I think it's possible. The country was created as a revolution against TYRANNY - an oppressive empire exploiting the people of its colony, and a mad, tyrannical King. And ........ here we are again. A tyrannical Oligarchy with utter disregard for the common good and the people, indeed, even for the planet. And a mad "king" as their figurehead, corrupt and destructive as they come. Maybe it has to get this bad before change can happen.
And there's a lot of joy I still feel, when I remember Peter, Paul and Mary.
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