What's old is new again

[HERBIE1]

Rather than derail the health care reform thread any further, I thought I would strike out on a new course here. I was a youngster in the 1960's so much of what was happening was beyond me, which means most of what I know is from books, TV shows, documentaries, movies, and other sources. The 60's were a very turbulent time. Protests, anger, and yes, even rage were common emotions. The Civil Rights movement, the Cold War, assassinations of JFK and later MLK and RFK, the Viet Nam war all served to incite passions, fear, anger, and yes, rage. These emotions often boiled over into displays of disobedience and yes, even violence. We were severely divided along political ideological lines, and the conflicts were often bitter.

Although it's difficult to compare different generations, different political climates, and different world political issues, I see many similarities between the 2 eras. During the Bush era, we saw anger and resentment over the Iraq war, the issue of immigration, and the threat of terrorism. The primary "enemy" during the 60's was a singular one- the USSR, and on a larger scale, communism- "the big red menace". Today our enemy is terrorism, but it has no singular face- it's a threat on many fronts. Policies established in previous administrations- some dating back to the 60's- have shaped today's economy and society, and I think we are now at a crossroads as a nation.

After 9/11, we were united as a people against a common enemy. Now, we seem to be just as divided today as we were back in the 60's. The election of Obama was indeed a pivotal moment in our history, he certainly inherited a fair amount of problems, but the debate now is how we should deal with these problems. Nobody expects Obama to wave a magic wand and fix everything in 1 year- or even during his entire term, so battle lines are drawn about what we should do about these problems.

I won't get into the specifics, but suffice it to say that one side thinks we are on the wrong path, that we are changing the very fabric of this country and we are headed in the wrong direction. The other side thinks that major changes are necessary and the key to solve our problems and progress is to expand the role of government. As a result, diametrically opposing viewpoints are causing a great deal of anger and resentment, and where we go from here will determine how our nation will emerge from this recession.

So- are we seeing a rebirth of the 60's, and an end to civility or will these emotions die down?