Bring the Sixties Out of the Closet

[Sapphire Blue]

Bring the Sixties Out of the Closet
By Don Hazen, AlterNet. Posted March 23, 2006.

(excerpt)

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the '60s (actually the period from '67 to '73) -- that political era so filled with possibility, so much a part of the blood and souls of millions of aging baby boomers like myself. The period was profoundly effective in the changes it provoked, yet is so persistently pilloried for its exaggerated excesses. One reason I find myself looking back is the pervasive feeling of political impotence so many of us feel at this moment in history, and our seeming inability to act -- to be noticed, to make a difference.

There are some present-day chilling parallels to the repression of the Nixon era -- and of course many differences -- but there is a feeling in the air that smells like the '60s, that sends paranoid vibes through the body politic. The events taking place -- warrantless wiretapping, political corruption, torture, the war in Iraq with its disgusting profiteering while tens of thousands of people die -- demand a response equal to the situation, Yet we sit without a clear path showing us our step.

(snip)

I remember so clearly the May Day 1971 protests in Washington, D.C., glaring at Attorney General John Mitchell as he stood on the roof of the Justice Department, puffing his ever-present pipe and pretending to ignore the thousands of screaming, chanting masses in the street. The WikiPedia describes May 3, 1971, as "one of the most disruptive actions of the Vietnam War era."

The threat caused by the May Day Protests forced the Nixon administration to create a virtual state of siege in the nation's capital. Thousands of federal and National Guard troops, along with local police, suppressed the disorder, and by the time it was over several days later, over 10,000 would be arrested. It would be the largest mass arrest in U.S. history.

That's not a typo: More than 10,000 people were arrested, jammed into jails that resembled crowded elevators and bused out to RFK Stadium. It was crazy, anarchistic and perhaps politically naive, but it was action. It made an impression. We were noticed. And it was exhilarating to bond with so many in a cause that felt so just. Critics may suggest that the protest made things worse, that it played into the hands of the Republicans. But I don't think so. Resistance is important. (There is a parallel today, with some critics charging that talk of impeaching Bush and Sen. Russ Feingold's motion to censure are also counterproductive.)

Continued @ http://www.alternet.org/story/33896/

[wordpix2]

1. I was at those DC protests---we won't get the same outrage today unless

or until the repukes start a draft. That's when the sheeple will wake up and demonstrate en masse in every city in this country. "Geez, I (my son/daughter/brother/sister) must go to the draft board, what's going on and what should I do?"

Not likely to happen as long as BushCheneyCo. know their sons and daughters will be drafted if they start a draft.

[maveric]

2. We may need to bring the 1770's, out of the closet.

I may be cynical and paranoid but I feel that this administration IS NOT going to leave. Even when/if bu$h is gone, Diebold will put another one of "their boys", in office,making the office of POTUS irrelevant and furthering corporate rule.

To get these thugs out it may take a true revolution,although I cant see the lazy and complient American populace getting off their asses to do so.

Like I said,"I may be cynical and paranoid"...

[RufusEarl]

3. If you are then so am i,

i've been cynical and paranoid since the 2000 election. I've been telling friends and family that this admin have no intention of leaving office in 2008, they all think i'm crazy and maybe so.

But the powers to be have their people in place now, and i don't think they want to lose that. All it would take is another terrorist attack, or bird flu or some such major event and this country would fall under marshal law.

So put me on that list, of the cynical and paranoid.