U.S. Politics

[Steve M. Galbraith]

Are people not aware of the riots and protests we had in the 1960s and 1970s? After King's assassination? The 1968 Democratic convention? The weekly bombings and violent protests? The Weather Underground bombings? Campuses shut down? Kent State?

The idea that it was just bra burning is simply wrong.

This is the nation's capital after the assassination of Dr. King - "Everything was on fire":

[Steve M. Galbraith]

The Weather Underground Organization (WUO) bombed the Capitol, the Pentagon and various other buildings. We have nothing remotely comparable to that today. Today we have a number of isolated, lost people, immersed in the strange world of social media, acting violently on their own, not as part of a group. A danger but a different kind. One that we really have nothing to help us use.

"In the 1970s, the WUO conducted a bombing campaign targeting government buildings and several banks. Some attacks were preceded by evacuation warnings, along with threats identifying the particular matter that the attack was intended to protest. Three members of the group were killed in an accidental Greenwich Village townhouse explosion, but none were killed in any of the bombings. The WUO communiqué issued in connection with the bombing of the United States Capitol on March 1, 1971, indicated that it was "in protest of the U.S. invasion of Laos". The WUO asserted that its May 19, 1972, bombing of the Pentagon was "in retaliation for the U.S. bombing raid in Hanoi". On September 28, 1973, an ITT Inc building in New York City was bombed for the involvement of this company in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. The WUO announced that its January 29, 1975 bombing of the United States Department of State building was "in response to the escalation in Vietnam".

[Steve M. Galbraith]

The unrest of 1968 following the assassination of Dr. King:

"Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a leading African-American civil rights activist, on April 4, 1968, Washington, D.C., experienced a four-day period of violent civil unrest and rioting. Part of the broader riots that affected at least 110 U.S. cities, those in Washington, D.C.—along with those in Chicago and in Baltimore—were among those with the greatest numbers of participants. President Lyndon B. Johnson called in the National Guard to the city on April 5, 1968, to assist the police department in quelling the unrest. Ultimately, 13 people were killed, with approximately 1,000 people injured and over 6,100 arrested."

There were violent riots and protests in over 100 US cities. Washington was shutdown for four days. LBJ had to call the National Guard out to restore order.

If you think we're in a situation worse than that then well you need to turn off the computer.

[Royell Storing]

  The above is "organized" violence. Whether it is the CIA/JFK Assassination or the Black Panthers, etc/LA "Race" Riots. Same goes for Kent State. That was law enforcement.  You are confusing this with INDIVIDUALS having their rational thought altered through modern day technology.

[Lance Payette]

The race riots of 1968 following the assassination of Dr. King:

"Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a leading African-American civil rights activist, on April 4, 1968, Washington, D.C., experienced a four-day period of violent civil unrest and rioting. Part of the broader riots that affected at least 110 U.S. cities, those in Washington, D.C.—along with those in Chicago and in Baltimore—were among those with the greatest numbers of participants. President Lyndon B. Johnson called in the National Guard to the city on April 5, 1968, to assist the police department in quelling the unrest. Ultimately, 13 people were killed, with approximately 1,000 people injured and over 6,100 arrested."

There were violent riots and protests in over 100 US cities. Washington was shutdown for four days. LBJ had to call the National Guard out to restore order.

If you think we're in a situation worse than that then well you need to turn off the computer.

I actually do think we're in a situation far, far worse. I lived through the sixties as a high school (1964-1968) and college (1968-72) student, but it was fundamentally different from today IHO. As much as I hate AI, I asked it to distinguish the two eras and it actually did quite a good job:

Both the 1960s and today have experienced significant violence, but the nature, primary drivers, and public perception differ substantially. While the 1960s saw widespread street violence, assassinations, and organized protests often related to civil rights and the Vietnam War, violence today is characterized by political polarization amplified by social media and an increased prevalence of gun violence.

It produced a lengthy comparison chart that I apparently can't reproduce here, but the emphasis was on the effects of technology, social media and the widespread availability of guns. Here is some of what it said about today:

Increasingly fueled by conspiracy theories, anger, and distrust amplified on social media. Political violence is more decentralized, and while perpetrators may have mental health concerns, they are also shaped by the current polarized climate.

Social media plays a powerful and often negative role, allowing extremist views to spread widely and rapidly. It also provides unfiltered information, which can lead to misinformation and confusion.

The easy availability of guns is now a major factor in political and interpersonal violence, making it easier for individuals to act on hatred. Mass shootings are a significant feature of modern-day violence.

Aggressive and dehumanizing political rhetoric is now used more frequently by mainstream political figures, contributing to a more inflamed and polarized atmosphere.

In the sixties, I don't think anyone thought the very soul of America was at risk. There was certainly a great divide over the Vietnam War, and over racial issues, but I don't think anyone on either side thought the America we had always known was at risk. Now, I believe that fear does exist. Those under 40 have been educated in and indoctrinated by a Marxist/Leftist educational system and simply do not view America the same way the older generations do. It is far more of a genuine cultural war than existed in the sixties. The internet and social media allow people, especially young people, to live in echo chambers and they thus exacerbate the divide and ratchet up the loonies.

I just finished a scholarly book by a Notre Dame professor and sociologist who traces the decline in traditional religion from the Boomers to Gen X to the Millennials to Gen Z and beyond. He argues that, for Gen Z and beyond, traditional religion is simply irrelevant and effectively dead - replaced, if at all, by "spirituality" and "enchantment." I think much of the situation today is likewise generational. Those under 40 predominantly want a more Marxist/Leftist America because that's what they've been indoctrinated to want. I saw the election of Trump as a last-gasp effort to stem the tide. Perhaps that effort will be successful, and I hope it is, but I'm not optimistic because it's like trying to turn around a battleship and those with traditional values aren't getting younger.

All of this is painting with too broad of a brush, of course, but I do think the situation today involves a far deeper divide than was the case in the sixties - basically two entirely different visions of America - and that the potential for something akin to a civil war or collapse is very real.

[Royell Storing]

I actually do think we're in a situation far, far worse. I lived through the sixties as a high school (1964-1968) and college (1968-72) student, but it was fundamentally different from today IHO. As much as I hate AI, I asked it to distinguish the two eras and it actually did quite a good job:

Both the 1960s and today have experienced significant violence, but the nature, primary drivers, and public perception differ substantially. While the 1960s saw widespread street violence, assassinations, and organized protests often related to civil rights and the Vietnam War, violence today is characterized by political polarization amplified by social media and an increased prevalence of gun violence.

It produced a lengthy comparison chart that I apparently can't reproduce here, but the emphasis was on the effects of technology, social media and the widespread availability of guns. Here is some of what it said about today:

Increasingly fueled by conspiracy theories, anger, and distrust amplified on social media. Political violence is more decentralized, and while perpetrators may have mental health concerns, they are also shaped by the current polarized climate.

Social media plays a powerful and often negative role, allowing extremist views to spread widely and rapidly. It also provides unfiltered information, which can lead to misinformation and confusion.

The easy availability of guns is now a major factor in political and interpersonal violence, making it easier for individuals to act on hatred. Mass shootings are a significant feature of modern-day violence.

Aggressive and dehumanizing political rhetoric is now used more frequently by mainstream political figures, contributing to a more inflamed and polarized atmosphere.

In the sixties, I don't think anyone thought the very soul of America was at risk. There was certainly a great divide over the Vietnam War, and over racial issues, but I don't think anyone on either side thought the America we had always known was at risk. Now, I believe that fear does exist. Those under 40 have been educated in and indoctrinated by a Marxist/Leftist educational system and simply do not view America the same way the older generations do. It is far more of a genuine cultural war than existed in the sixties. The internet and social media allow people, especially young people, to live in echo chambers and they thus exacerbate the divide and ratchet up the loonies.

I just finished a scholarly book by a Notre Dame professor and sociologist who traces the decline in traditional religion from the Boomers to Gen X to the Millennials to Gen Z and beyond. He argues that, for Gen Z and beyond, traditional religion is simply irrelevant and effectively dead - replaced, if at all, by "spirituality" and "enchantment." I think much of the situation today is likewise generational. Those under 40 predominantly want a more Marxist/Leftist America because that's what they've been indoctrinated to want. I saw the election of Trump as a last-gasp effort to stem the tide. Perhaps that effort will be successful, and I hope it is, but I'm not optimistic because it's like trying to turn around a battleship and those with traditional values aren't getting younger.

All of this is painting with too broad of a brush, of course, but I do think the situation today involves a far deeper divide than was the case in the sixties - basically two entirely different visions of America - and that the potential for something akin to a civil war or collapse is very real.

   In the 60's it was still more like "West Side Story" with kids in high school fighting with knives. Today, anybody in public school around 14 has a gun or hangs with someone that does own a gun. Comparing the 60's to Now? No comparison. Not even close.

[Jack Nessan]

The race riots of 1968 following the assassination of Dr. King:

"Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a leading African-American civil rights activist, on April 4, 1968, Washington, D.C., experienced a four-day period of violent civil unrest and rioting. Part of the broader riots that affected at least 110 U.S. cities, those in Washington, D.C.—along with those in Chicago and in Baltimore—were among those with the greatest numbers of participants. President Lyndon B. Johnson called in the National Guard to the city on April 5, 1968, to assist the police department in quelling the unrest. Ultimately, 13 people were killed, with approximately 1,000 people injured and over 6,100 arrested."

There were violent riots and protests in over 100 US cities. Washington was shutdown for four days. LBJ had to call the National Guard out to restore order.

If you think we're in a situation worse than that then well you need to turn off the computer.

A few years ago, I was sent a little film clip entitled the “Good Old Days” about the Sixties from a good friend as kind of a joke. They weren’t the good old days. I was surprised how bad they were. A lot of it you tend to forget but they seemed way worse than today. I do think we tend to forget the bad times for no other reason than who wants to remember. Different political problems but just as bad if not worse. The 30's depression for our grandparents had to be far worse, no need to revisit that.

[Lance Payette]

A few years ago, I was sent a little film clip entitled the “Good Old Days” about the Sixties from a good friend as kind of a joke. They weren’t the good old days. I was surprised how bad they were. A lot of it you tend to forget but they seemed way worse than today. I do think we tend to forget the bad times for no other reason than who wants to remember. Different political problems but just as bad if not worse. The 30's depression for our grandparents had to be far worse, no need to revisit that.

We got started down the path with the term "worse" and stayed with that, but I really don't think "worse" is the right term. With all the turmoil of the sixties and seventies, I never felt America itself was at risk. I never felt I was seeing or participating in a war of culture and ideology that had the potential to turn America into something the Founding Fathers never would have recognized and would have abhorred. "Existential threat" is an overused term these days, but it comes closer to capturing what I think the difference is. Nothing in the sixties was an existential threat to the America we had always known, but today (I believe) we are in a genuine war of culture and ideology that is existentially threatening (which some people, of course, think is a good thing). There is a reason Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again" resonates with so many people.