An unsophisticated historical perspective

Recent headlines had me thinking about how we got here and that thinking led to the conclusions below. But, before you read those, I challenge you to give some thought to this question: If you had to name six things from your generation that changed or defined it and contributed to the issues we are facing today, what would they be? My list is very simplistic and, as I look at it, I realize that in most cases I've only taken one step back from a problem.  But I guess it's a beginning and it did get the juices flowing. Here is my list, in alphabetical order.

1.   Assassins. The things that John, Martin and Bobby stood for only got stronger. Their causes were larger than one man and did not end when someone shot them dead. Many of my generation entered public service and worked for civil rights. As we aged, we learned that each of those martyrs had flaws as well as a calling, but we accepted that balance because of our own shortcomings. We learned that revenge is different from justice and that answers are not simple and some questions may never be answered. And, if as a people we didn't get rid of guns in the 1960s, it's not surprising that we have Newton, Orlando, Dallas and Baton Rouge today.

2.   Birth control pill. A major step continuing the suffragette movement was women being able to take more control of their bodies. From this came more than the sexual revolution. It birthed the ERA and the ongoing struggle for overall equality still being fought today.

3.   Live TV broadcasts. Watching rockets take off inspired some toward science. Watching soldiers on the other side of the world in a place called Vietnam split the country, sparked movements on college campuses across the nation, helped do away with the draft, and ultimately made us often numb to what we see. We forget that it also gave as much power to those controlling the cameras and microphones as those who run the presses had enjoyed for centuries.

4.   Long hair. In the 1960s, boys were as much trendsetters as their counterparts in miniskirts. Males were rebelling against image traditions and, like all the preceding generations who had some issue around which to challenge their predecessors, this became one of ours. Why does the length of one's hair matter? This led to Hair, the musical, which changed theater and defined the Age of Aquarius.

5.   Microchip. I guess technically, given the time period, it is more the broader use of the microchip, not the invention of it, that changed things for my generation. My transistor radio led to boom boxes, mimeographs to copy machines, adding machines to calculators, well, you know how technology has changed our lives.

6.   West Side Story. This modern version of Romeo and Juliet highlighted that there are not always happy endings and that the bonds within gangs are as strong as within family. The members of the Jets and the Sharks showed that us that while it can be done, looking beyond race is hard. Today's cities and society are now dealing with the third and fourth generation of children who grew up in gangs and with gang life being all they have known and third and forth generation of Officer Krupkes.

Many topics are missing from my list. Off the top of my head is the "God is dead" movement and how my generation's approach to religion and spirituality has changed. I'll leave that for another musing. Meanwhile, I'd love to know some things that would be on your list.

Marilyn