This past July, I turned 70 years of age. It was not a happy occasion. While I was 69, I was okay, but something about that seven in front of a zero unsettled me. I don't feel old. I still try to stay involved in politics through the internet. I still have most of the same radical, rebellious, anti-authority beliefs I developed during the era known as 'The Sixties'. I turned 21 in 1965, when 'the sixties' really took off. (The era was basically 1963 to 1975, and the activism was most intense from around '65 to '71, the most tumultuous years.) I loved the '60s, and I wish we could revive the spirit of that era. Whenever I become morose about the number of years I've accumulated, I remind myself that I wouldn't have been able to experience the '60s if I was younger. I wouldn't have been in the middle of some of the most significant social changes ever.
The Civil Rights Movement, The Feminist Movement and The Gay Rights Movement all began in the '60s, and all three endured and continue to evolve today. I don't know what's being taught in schools today. I never wanted kids, never had any, so I have no involvement in the lifestyles of young people. What concerns me is what they're learning about history. I know the friggin' religious fanatics are screwing up schools with their obsession about scientific knowledge versus biblical myths. Now, I'm learning that they're attempting to revise history. I like history, and I don't like to see it rewritten to suit the beliefs of a minority of the population. (I'm not going to get into my contempt for the religious right or a discussion of their activities. Let's just say I abhor them and everything they stand for and leave it at that.) I'd like to review the history of the '60s, and explain what they were about. I want young people - if any of them read this - to know that there was a time in the US when freedom and democracy were actually used to effect positive social change. And I'm going to explain what happened when citizens of the world's greatest democracy put those ideals into practice.
As far as age is concerned, it's really a state of mind. I don't feel old, I don't think like I'm old, I don't even look old. I refuse to abandon my interests and attitudes because of a number. I don't really think of myself as old. I just accept that I've accumulated a lot of time while being alive. Besides, considering the life I've led, I'm fortunate to still be alive and healthy. So I hope you young folks can put aside your 'Senior Citizen' suspicion and stereotypes. Some of us might have some information or ideas that are useful. I'd like to share some of my experience. (Oh, btw/, don't ever call me a senior citizen. I hate that.) I'm trying to figure out how we're going to extricate ourselves from the Koch-created clusterfuck in Washington. That's why I want to explain the '60s.
A few years after the end of WW II, the US government created an intelligence service, the OSS. Their major accomplishments were overthrowing a government in Central America, a democratically elected government, and replacing it with a despot of their choosing. This was done to smooth the way for a rapacious American corporation to invade the country and plunder its potentially profitable main resource.
The other OSS accomplishment was smuggling some of Hitler's top scientists into this country, setting them up with new identities, and putting them to work on our fledgling nuclear program. I think one of those guys basically created the Space Program.
The OSS was disbanded and a new intelligence service was created: the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Their mission was to perform clandestine operations to insure our national security. What they actually did was protect American corporations as they began spreading out into other countries. The operation and profitability of corporations was and still is the CIA's primary interest. If a government had to be overthrown to make corporate interests attainable, no problem. (Why do you think the Iranians hate us? Or any of the Arab countries? For a time, the CIA made the Middle East a very comfortable, very profitable corporate domain, for both American and British oil companies.)
Also, we needed an enemy to hate and fear and oppose. Communism made itself available, and the CIA - through the American government - propagandized this monster into an imminent and constant threat. Russia's acquisition of nuclear technology made the whole thing even more dangerous. And it called for the creation of more nuclear weapons by our Defense Department, billions and billions of dollars spent on bombs and missiles no one wanted to use. But we were prepared if it became necessary.
The CIA was pleased. They'd terrified American citizens with the threat of Communist aggression, and that fear made it possible for the Defense Dept. to run amok, sucking up the taxpayers' money by the billions, no accountability required. And it had been an interesting exercise to see how easily people could be frightened and what they would allow because of that fear.
[If anyone is interested, I recommend an examination of our history as it relates to Communism. Look up Joe McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee.
That sleazy, opportunistic little scumbag instigated a witch hunt of epic proportions. He destroyed careers and lives as casually as he wadded the Constitution up and threw it away. He accused politicians, high-ranking military men, and the entire Hollywood community of being Communists. He forced people to appear before his committee and identify friends and associates who were Communists. If they refused, they were black-listed by studios, and some were jailed. People who cooperated were held in contempt by those who mistakenly believed in Constitutional rights and protections. Ronald Reagan was one of the most high-profile snitches. A few years ago, Elia Kazan, who was one of the most talented and successful directors of his time was given an honorary award at the Academy Awards. But he had named names, and there were many people in the audience who neither applauded nor stood up when he came on stage. There are still strong feelings in Hollywood over this issue. Anyway, anyone interested in studying how quickly things can go to hell if you have a dedicated fanatic and a frightened citizenry should study this era. Also, J. Edgar Hoover became an anti-Communist fanatic in the early 20th century, and the Constitution got kicked around by him, too.]
In the '60s, there was a mantra which I still subscribe to: 'Don't trust the government, big business, the military, or the police'. I also created a kind of thought to be aware of: There are five very effective methods of controlling people: Religion, Fear, Money, Drugs, and Sex. The government has become fairly adept at using all of those at one time or another. Fear is particularly convenient and effective. When Communism kind of slipped under the radar, it didn't take long to create another threat: Terrorism.
Okay, this has become much more involved than I intended, but I wanted to include the lengthy digression because it has a basis. It's also a useful contrast with the 60s. I don't know if it's allowed, but I'd like to make this a two-part post. I'm going to end here, and I'll focus on the 60s history in a second diary.