Who here was in their 20s during the 1960s?

This is exactly what's wrong with your generation. Always waiting for someone to do it for you. Do your own thing, make it happen yourself, quit waiting around for someone to "show you".

Moran.

Lucky bastards. I was born in the wrong decade...

Nah, I'm not saying that's what I want. Personally I don't need anybody to tell me what to do, I was just saying it seems as though my generation, in general, needs that. I'm finishing up college, went into film making, and I'm really hoping to make some documentaries that would affect social/environmental change. It just seems that so many would rather not care about it, and maybe having some kind of positive role model.

Anyway thanks for the insult.

well then you do have a plan!
my youngest is 26..he is like you..wants to change the world and I tell him one person at a time will do..
be your own positive role model

love

My siblings were in their teens in the late 60s. To understand the rebellion you have to understand the social repression that preceded it, at least according to my sister. The 50s was seen as very straight-laced, establishmentarian and ruthlessly conformist.

I think in some ways society has gone too far the other way - being too 'liberal' when it comes to bad behavior and character flaws for example - too much divorce, too many out-of-wedlock kids, too much drug addiction and all the self-indulgence weakened the real power that there was to change 'the system' itself.

It's almost like too many people forfeited the whole notion of being responsible by becoming overly self-indulgent, then enabling authorities to control so many aspects of our lives.

It's hard to explain but even in the 80s people were more conservative in some ways, but much less tolerant of state intrusiveness.

The concept of banning smoking from bars, or banning incandescent lightbulbs for example would have been seen as completely ludicrous. People fought against public CCTV cameras. And although there were plenty of teen mothers it sure as hell wasn't something 'celebrated' in pop culture. You didn't get on TV so people could guess your baby daddy.

Last Edited by Jessica6 on 02/01/2011 03:39 PM

To be honest, the last thing the world needs is another documentary. There have been plenty of role models, thanks but the world needs more people out there who actually do something.

REALLY want to make change and care about the environment? Get a science degree. Organic chemistry and find a good substitute for pvc, or developing plastics with no BPA. Or study physics and develop a more efficient solar panel.

We realized in 1968 that the only way to have power was to fuck the government.
And since ..

Hear it!
We are everywhere.
.. including the power.
We do not decide, but we know stop and derail the machine

We are the machine!
and also the grain of sand.
Often

Oooh thanks guys. Awesome responses. I leave for a day, and this thread booms haha.

Yes, I feel I was born in the wrong decade. I just hope my generation can get off their ass long enough to do something useful.

LMAO, how was the civil war bud?

I can see that.
My great grandmother (may god rest her soul) was born in 1913. She would have been my age in 1937. A lot of the stories she told of her early youth correlate closely with my own experiences, except it was on a different level of difficulty. Shortly after 1938 or 39' she moved to the city to work her ass off to help her family. Something else that is correlating with my generation, (and something I am doing as well).

I was 19 in 1963 when John Kennedy was killed. I agree with earlier posters that there was a feeling of real hope then (not the fake hope we hear about now) that change was happening all around and that it was good and leading to something better. We were innocent then, not suspecting at first that there was anything off about the president's murder. I did think it was odd that his death was not really investigated, just covered over and we were told to move along, nothing to see here.

There was a pervasive feeling that the best was still ahead, that there was much to work toward and look forward to. It felt like the world supported us in whatever endeavor we decided to seek. Anything was possible back then.

Raising my daughter in the '60's and '70's, I did not have to watch her every second. She played in the neighborhood and in the creek nearby without a care or fear. I knew she was safe even without a cell phone to keep in constant contact with her. She had freedom and autonomy that today's children will never know. My grandson cannot play with his friends unless a "playdate" is arranged like a doctor's appointment. Kids just do not show up on each other's doorsteps now wanting to play. And playing outside? Why would you want to do that when you have computer games? Ugh!

I guess we took it all for granted. We lived in Eden and just assumed it would always be so while we worked and saved and raised our kids.

I grieve for that time and the innocence which has been ripped from me once I began to learn what is really going on. Sometimes I wonder if it is good to learn of the evil all around and sometimes I envy the ones who will not see.

:) Well to make you feel better, it's still like that in the small rural towns. There is a sense of timelessness out here in the sticks, that I will miss when I move. The problems of suburbia and urban America are far distant problems here.

People are going back to their roots here. Farming, and sitting on their porches sipping coffee.

Hopefully that does not change.

Yeah, CC, I turned 21 in '65 and this expresses my view pretty well. One thing different is that in the 60's the cops still supported the Constitution. In NY the goal was to keep the stoners from hurting themselves or anyone else. Few hassles otherwise. After Kent State shootings, either 69 or the 70s, the loss of Freedom of Speech and Freedom from Unwarranted Search and Seizures happened. Once Nixon became president, it was all over but the shouting, as they used to say.

True