Posted on Jul 14, 2020
Protests, Chaos, Needless Deaths And A Looming Election: It Feels Like 1968. Why 2020 Is...
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Protests rock the country, the National Guard patrols our cities, thousands have died unnecessarily due to feckless national leaders, an election looms and the country seems close to spinning out of control. Inevitably, 2020 recalls another tumultuous year: 1968.
That year, the war in Vietnam was raging, American casualties were mounting, young protestors were taking to the streets. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, America’s Black communities from Oakland to Boston exploded in grief and rage. The National Guard was deployed. Richard Nixon campaigned on a platform of law and order and narrowly won a razor-thin victory in November.
That year, the war in Vietnam was raging, American casualties were mounting, young protestors were taking to the streets. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, America’s Black communities from Oakland to Boston exploded in grief and rage. The National Guard was deployed. Richard Nixon campaigned on a platform of law and order and narrowly won a razor-thin victory in November.
Protests, Chaos, Needless Deaths And A Looming Election: It Feels Like 1968. Why 2020 Is...
Posted from wbur.orgPosted in these groups: 
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American History
Protest American History
Posted >1 y ago
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This was an interesting read. I wasn't around in '68, but I've spoken to many who were... mostly those who either were in, had been, or were headed to Vietnam. Their opinions are as diverse as ours are today... which is not surprising. Many feel we were fighting a "just war"... just under the wrong strategies with the wrong objectives. Others, feel the Vietnam War was symbolic of generations-old problems, prejudices, and abuses of power.
I honestly don't have a right to judge either opinion... like I said; I wasn't there.
However, I've definitely a right to speak on what's going on today. I came of age educated, trained, and led by people who took lessons from the '60s and '70s. I served in a military that WAS diverse, DID offer equal opportunities irrespective of race, and made more than token efforts at carrying out operations ethically. Somehow-despite all of that, we ended up with our own "quagmire" in the Middle East and Central Asia... and our own internal conflicts hinging on equality and racism.
Forgive me... but I see more to the picture; much more in fact.
I believe the United States has long ignored a simple truth: We are the world's latest "empire". Empire isn't always a "bad" word; in addition to implying dominance and conquest... it also implies structure, order, and responsibility. That's why we keep getting involved in foreign wars, but going into them with one hand tied behind our back. We feel "obligated" to intervene when violence, genocide, and extremism raise their ugly heads... but compelled to fight them without unleashing the full force of our military machine. The "benefit" of doing so is that we avoid becoming the "evil" empires of the past... but the cost is steep. It's this frustration coupled with loss of life and treasure that breeds a sense of "unfinished" business, resentment, and dissatisfaction.
Similarly, we keep denying that our model of government and society is held, the world-over, as superior by many. People come here because they know America doesn't (openly, at least) suppress opinions, imprison or execute dissenters, and does offer opportunities unheard of in other places on the planet. However, when they arrive here... they are coming from places where corruption, intimidation, and violence are the "currency" of life. Sometimes-this causes conflict with people who are accustomed to regulation, comfort, and security. The resulting fear creates mistrust, and that fuels hate.
This perhaps creates the unholy conditions for re-opening old wounds, and exaggerating the severity of new ones.
Enter then the opportunists, the pundits, the politicians. These people are masters at manipulating human emotions towards consolidating their own power. What would a "stable" nation promote if not a system of "limited" government? If we generally found satisfaction with our "status quo"... why would we every oust incumbents and embrace new zealots? Such a system would gravitate towards predictable patterns... including the balancing of budgets. We are naive if we don't see that our leaders do not get wealthy off their salaries... but their influence translated as campaign funding, trusts, and other instruments of funneling wealth from the private to public sector.
I think we are all being fooled.
COVID-19 could be the result of many things; ranging from poor public health practices in China to an intentional attack aimed at disrupting Western Civilization. The deaths of people at the hands of police officers represent statistical anomalies... not endemic philosophies. Neither could've been stopped by any reasonable efforts on the part of either political "party"... though both will maximize blame to it's greatest possible effect.
What's needed now is unity...not the kind that requires either side to "surrender", but the kind that acknowledges words like "innocence" and "guilt" are complicated, and often misapplied. We need to stop looking for revenge and concurrently stop denying that anyone has been wronged.
We need to remember how we got here... and be proud of all that's been accomplished to date.
I honestly don't have a right to judge either opinion... like I said; I wasn't there.
However, I've definitely a right to speak on what's going on today. I came of age educated, trained, and led by people who took lessons from the '60s and '70s. I served in a military that WAS diverse, DID offer equal opportunities irrespective of race, and made more than token efforts at carrying out operations ethically. Somehow-despite all of that, we ended up with our own "quagmire" in the Middle East and Central Asia... and our own internal conflicts hinging on equality and racism.
Forgive me... but I see more to the picture; much more in fact.
I believe the United States has long ignored a simple truth: We are the world's latest "empire". Empire isn't always a "bad" word; in addition to implying dominance and conquest... it also implies structure, order, and responsibility. That's why we keep getting involved in foreign wars, but going into them with one hand tied behind our back. We feel "obligated" to intervene when violence, genocide, and extremism raise their ugly heads... but compelled to fight them without unleashing the full force of our military machine. The "benefit" of doing so is that we avoid becoming the "evil" empires of the past... but the cost is steep. It's this frustration coupled with loss of life and treasure that breeds a sense of "unfinished" business, resentment, and dissatisfaction.
Similarly, we keep denying that our model of government and society is held, the world-over, as superior by many. People come here because they know America doesn't (openly, at least) suppress opinions, imprison or execute dissenters, and does offer opportunities unheard of in other places on the planet. However, when they arrive here... they are coming from places where corruption, intimidation, and violence are the "currency" of life. Sometimes-this causes conflict with people who are accustomed to regulation, comfort, and security. The resulting fear creates mistrust, and that fuels hate.
This perhaps creates the unholy conditions for re-opening old wounds, and exaggerating the severity of new ones.
Enter then the opportunists, the pundits, the politicians. These people are masters at manipulating human emotions towards consolidating their own power. What would a "stable" nation promote if not a system of "limited" government? If we generally found satisfaction with our "status quo"... why would we every oust incumbents and embrace new zealots? Such a system would gravitate towards predictable patterns... including the balancing of budgets. We are naive if we don't see that our leaders do not get wealthy off their salaries... but their influence translated as campaign funding, trusts, and other instruments of funneling wealth from the private to public sector.
I think we are all being fooled.
COVID-19 could be the result of many things; ranging from poor public health practices in China to an intentional attack aimed at disrupting Western Civilization. The deaths of people at the hands of police officers represent statistical anomalies... not endemic philosophies. Neither could've been stopped by any reasonable efforts on the part of either political "party"... though both will maximize blame to it's greatest possible effect.
What's needed now is unity...not the kind that requires either side to "surrender", but the kind that acknowledges words like "innocence" and "guilt" are complicated, and often misapplied. We need to stop looking for revenge and concurrently stop denying that anyone has been wronged.
We need to remember how we got here... and be proud of all that's been accomplished to date.
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MSG Stan Hutchison
Well said. We absolutely must go back to where we can exchange ideas nd opinions without the rancor and denigration. We are all Americans, we are all patriots, and we all want only what is best for this nation.
We should never forget that.
We should never forget that.
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