I clicked on that link, but didn’t want to go on the site because it wanted me to set up an account and I get enough unwanted junk mail from having done that in the past. Now I only sign up for things I know I want. But I did look up the Epoch Times on wikipedia. It is a media company associated with the Falun Gong religious movement. They are anti communist china, pro Trump,(according to a 2019 NBC report they were second only to the Trump campaign itself in funding pro-Trump Facebook advertising until Facebook banned them for having fake accounts posing as Americans to push political views) and they also support far right politics in Europe. Their ownership and finances get a little murky when you try to figure out exactly who or what is running the show. I say keep in mind they have a huge ax to grind for their own purposes whenever you read their articles.
I don’t take anything I read or see anywhere as gospel, but I try to listen to and read from a variety of sources, always keeping in mind the old Latin saying: “cui bono”—who benefits?
Absolutely agree that we do have problems as Americans and humanity as a whole. Wouldn’t want to be in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen or a number of other places.
But, as you write about the 60s, just in my lifetime it’s been so much worse. You write about civil rights. Those who were assaulted or killed in that fight. The 58,000 soldiers who died in Vietnam and the countless number who came back damaged by the experience. I tried to get a number of Vietnamese who died, but the numbers are wildly varied. At least a couple hundred thousand.
Even those deaths pale in comparison to our civil war and the world wars. For the average person there’s no better time to be alive than now. Unless it’s in the future because that’s apt to be even better. In any case, it doesn’t do anyone any good to think otherwise.
On the threat of Trump and his cultists, I guess I’m pretty sanguine too. I’m optimistic that, for whatever reason, he’s not going to attain the presidency again. Even if his health holds I don’t believe he’ll be voted in. And if he does, he’s too incompetent to be a dictator and will be surrounded by people just as incompetent. Not to say he can’t do a lot of damage with incompetence.
I’m hopeful the technological means are being developed to identify those who make swatting calls and bomb threats. They should be punished hard when found and it should be widely known that they’re being sent away for a decade or more to discourage others.
One correction. History is replete with examples of incompetent dictators. The Roman Empire was well equipped to survive truly incompetent leaders and there are many, but Commodus might provide insight on what a 2nd Trump “presidency” might look like.
I should’ve remembered him. He was Marcus Aurelius’ failson. It was men like him that convinced the founders to install elections to hopefully ensure succession by competent people and not ne’er do well sons of emperors or reality show frauds.
Impermanence is the rule. Eventually all history is lost, but until recently the most lasting was either chiseled in stone or baked into clay tablets. The stuff we shoot into space and escapes earth’s gravity, the trash left on the moon, that stuff will last a really long time. 8 track tapes, CD ROMs, thumb drives, that stuff will disappear quickly. Books packed tight on shelves in some desert library will likely last longer than or technological records.
The permanence of books is a reassuring thought. We can all work to keep our libraries away from the reactionary book burners of our day so that they can be rediscovered Qumran-style someday.
The threat is not just Trump but Trumpism. It's impossible to imagine that the fascism and hatred he's unleashed is simply going to vanish once he leaves politics (probably not until he dies). The forces he unleashed did not come out of nowhere and they're not going to disappear quickly.
On the bright side, I think it’s going to be very difficult for anyone to take Trump’s place when he’s incapacitated for whatever reason. I don’t know a lot about cults, but I don’t think cult leaders are easily replaced. Most seem to end either in mass suicide or as religions.
The state Republican parties in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and likely other states are chaotic messes now as a result of total obedience to Trump. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when even he is not there as a figurehead.
I mention this a lot. Sorry. But, the founders gave us elections because they knew history and what happened in England, Rome and other places ruled by autocrats. Republicans (ironically due to the whole republic thing) no longer honor the results of elections. It’s party dogma to dispute and deny any loss. How do they function as a political party with that mindset?
I agree it's unlikely Trump will be replaced by a single figure anywhere near as influential as him. But what he's unleashed has already been seized upon by minions at the state and local level and a lot of damage has been done there by far "lesser" figures. If you throw a rock at a window, damage is done beyond where the big hole is. It weakens the entire structure.
The biggest danger is you get somebody similar to Trump but with the ability to navigate fascist legislation through Congress. Basically a more competent and disciplined fascist. I mean, if you had someone with Trump's personality and DeSantis' ability to ram through despicable legislation, then our country would really be screwed.
The answer is they don't function as a political party anymore. It is a cult of personality on the highest level. And pure nihilism almost everywhere else.
That's why they are irrelevant in some many places they used to be competitive or even dominate. Did you know that the year I was born (early 70s), Republicans controlled the governorship, state attorney general's office, both US senators and both houses of the legislature. As they've gotten more and more extreme, they haven't won a single statewide election since 2002.
My father was a columnist for many years at the Trenton Times and later the Trentonian. I am always thrilled to find a connection to what was a golden time for newspapers and my childhood. Dad’s been gone for a long time and I would love to hear his thoughts on the current insane world. Thank you for your writing.
Having someone right up in your face screaming calling you filthy names is frightening.
Having someone tell you they're going to find out where you live,,,, come to your workplace etc scared me immensely at the onset of counter protesting the pro trump groups downtown.
Private messages from grown men and women threatening harm.
I called the police. Can't do anything because they did not say they'd kill me lol. Even though I had an individual on video saying to his friends to find out where I lived.
I slept with lights on in my house for two weeks and had a bat by my bed.
After coming to *know* these idiots I stopped fearing them.
However in this day and age I take all threats seriously as I think there's a mentality out there that actually wants to do harm.
I'm not afraid to speak up but I do think threats are credible and should be taken seriously.
Keeping lights on is the wrong strategy. People can see in plainly and you can’t see out without standing directly in front of a window. An alert dog is your best ally in a situation where you worry about stalkers in your yard.
You are correct about the threats. They are all bluff and just intended to frighten and intimidate you … until they aren’t. January 6th is an excellent example of that, but on a local level those sort of threats are exactly how the Taliban took control of Afghanistan during the US occupation. Everyone can laugh off or ignore a threat until there is one incident of violence, and then the threat starts to seem more serious. In this country we have seen many examples of threats turning into extreme violence, and the psychological tension of living in a society in which threatening behavior is normalized, where radicalized people likely have access to a gun or may in fact be carrying a concealed weapon is damaging the mental health of the whole society.
Yes the good old days were full of good and bad. Many liked the homogenized life, and we felt our childhoods were safe and wonderful. Others’ childhoods were not as pleasant as they are today; many are worse. My soon to be 100 year old dad loved his NYC childhood playing ice hockey and stick ball in the streets in the 1930’s, and later fighting in Normandy and the Philippines during WWll. My children grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and felt their childhoods were the best as well. They are now passing the baton to their children. I am the first in my family to attend college, marched against the Vietnam war, not wanting my friends killed in a war Macnamara finally admitted that our politicians never expected to win. Crime was high in the 1970’s, but we still went to NYC for great music and restaurants after proms and birthdays.
Today we have more information then we did during the so called good old days, however there were abductions, murders, dysfunctional families, domestic violence and other horrors that we just didn’t hear of as often as we do today. Each generation must take it upon itself to bring humanity forward, learn from our past mistakes and enjoy the world we live in. You’re correct Ken when you say that we can improve humanity if we elect leaders who respect our constitution, believe in our democracy, and care more about americas future than their egos.
In our childish ignorance most of us thought our childhood was idyllic and normal. Some of us can look back and understand our mistake. Others carry on in ignorance.
Thank you for pointing out the crimes commonly committed on people of a darker skin color. Growing up in that atmosphere, I knew, as a "minority", there was no escaping the possibility of being insulted, shunned, rejected and threatened, so, no, I did not exactly have many great "good old days", except for the fact that I knew that many, thousands of decent and courageous people, like you and your father, of every color and ethnic origin, were willling to protest these crimes. They risked everything, their time, their money, their home life, their safety and yes, their lives. This weekend, some people are thinking about those strident times, and hoping that more people join in on the daily struggle against injustice of any kind. It is a pleasure to read comments made by kindred souls.
Both your parents set a high bar for the value of family values, hard-earned educational advancement, and sustained commitment to social justice issues, Will.
Hard act to follow…but a heritage worth emulating…as you have done throughout your career(s) and personal life.
Lyrics/flashbacks from the late ‘60’s/ early ‘70’s from the Byrds’ song “Turn, Turn, Turn…” have been reverberating within my brain lately…remembering my soul-deep ambivalence in not believing in War, but being committed to the care of the Warriors. Remembering it was worth the foot blisters being in the Anti-War March from the San Francisco Bay Bridge up to Golden Gate Park… to offset my angst after working the evening before on my Neurosurgery ward filled with the war’s spinal- cord-injured patients at Oakland Naval Hospital.
Ambivalence has always been a hard emotion to bear, and always will be, as long as we persevere to fight for what we still believe in.
🎼 “To everything there is a season…a time of war, a time of peace…a time to love, a time to hate…a time for peace… I swear it’s not too late…” 🎼. 🙏
I didn't know your family history in journalism and news...Good to read about "history"--personal and national. I was thinking of "maga, make america great again" and how ignorant that is of the complex history of our nation. Last night i saw again a program of Tulsa and the white violence against a thriving, peaceful black community--white domestic terrorism there and actually throughout the Jim Crow South when Blacks were merely trying to vote or attend a school--police violence, civilian violence, lynchings....courts always declaring whites not guilty and blacks guilty......And also our not so good foreign policy, always defending our corporate interests in central and south america, helping to overthrow democratically elected leaders who fought for reforms and the rights of the people, putting in and supporting dictators for sugar, fruit, our corporate interests...Important to know history, to not be misinformed by myths, to do what is right. Today we are celebrating Martin Luther King who fought not only for Civil Rights for Blacks but also recognized the clear connection between militarism (the war in Vietnam), corporate greed, and economic injustice....The same battles now...to actually make america great and good for us all.
Dr. King also launched the war against poverty, not only here, but worldwide. He is now a symbol of courage, when in his time, even other African-American "leaders" shunned him for going "too far" into class reality.
This column brings two quotes from author Robertson Davies to mind:
“The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealised past.” And, “A happy childhood has spoiled many a promising life!”
Many things were worse than we ever knew. Research statistics, regarding atrocities by the Ku Klux Klan done following the Civil War, were buried in the National Archives improperly filed under such things as "purchase orders". For a book that begins to unravel the truth about the nascent years of our racist and violent disunity and pain read "Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction" by the historian Fergus M. Bordewich, published in 2023 by Alfred A. Knopf. Some critics have complained of a few publishing and research errors, but with thousands of pages of previously unknown information to go through, Mr. Bordewich has done his best to reveal the true horrors of racism burning in the souls of many powerful men (and women). The legacy of this shame continues to haunt, drive, and divide our unity and hope.
You are correct. I am reading William Manchester's, The Glory and the Dream, a beautifully written story of American history from 1929 to 1970. He captured the good and the bad of that time period. The 30's had the great Depression, the 40's had war, strikes, no civil rights for African Americans, the dreaded Red Scare. The 50's had the Korean War, McCarthy and more civil rights fights. The 60's had Vietnam, assassinations and a drastic cultural change. The world, let alone the USA was not a great place. Yes, there were some good things, but it is always measured with some really bad things.
Our collective goal should be to move forward and try to make things better. Looking back should be used to correct our mistakes, not creating a political unreality.
Great column. I agree with you that our past has a lot to do with our future. We seem to repeat the same darn things over and over. The 60's were a tough time and the antiwar movement caused LBJ to decide to not run for his second term at the very last moment (March of 68) and he put in his vice president to run. I hope the democratic convention this year is not a repeat of the 1968 convention in Chicago. Since this is the first time they decided to return there after the disaster of 68. It seemed like the democratic party kept getting us deeper and deeper into Vietnam and folks were tired of seeing body bags of servicemen coming back from a war they just did not understand. I think the 60's were full of older adults not quite understanding the young adult. The young men were fleeing the US to Canada to avoid the draft and the ones that went were spit on when they came home. Riots and burned-out buildings and it were the time of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. Nixon won to get us out of the war, and he did. Then we got rid of him...I think the only thing most folks miss about the so called good old days were that it only took one income to buy a house. Working at a company with a union that paid well, and you only needed a high school education to still get a good job and folks still had an appreciation of folks who worked in the trades. You could still afford to go to your doctor and dentist in your town and a hospital stay would not bankrupt you. Maybe, the only thing people miss is that they felt better economically compared to now. I remember University of Florida in 1971 cost $160 a quarter and you could take 21 credits at a time to graduate faster. You had no student loans or credit cards back then; you got a job at the college or in town to help pay for it, if you did not have parents that paid, or you used your GI loan that you had after you came back from the worst war that you know the generals above you lost. I think we will never learn from our history since we are destined to keep repeating it like an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Meg and I just got back from attending the MLKJr celebration at Christ United Methodist Church, and so just got around to reading your column. Thanks for the reminder that there is still much to be done in the area of civil and human rights.
As someone has said , “Thank God things ain’t what they used to be, but they still ain’t what they oughta be.”
MLKJr Day always stirs up personal memories for me. When I was doing graduate studies in the Boston area, during the 1959-60 school year, MLK spoke one Sunday at Harvard’s Memorial Chapel. Meg and I were there. A marvelous experience!
Then, in the mid-60’s, the civil rights movement moved north, addressing the realities of racism and de facto segregation in the north. In April, 1965, MLK came to Boston. I volunteered to be a marshal for the march, which culminated in a rally on the Boston Common. A memorable moment!
On two occasions MLK —who was an American Baptist pastor—was the keynote speaker for our denomination’s annual meetings. At one of those meetings, I had the privilege of meeting
his father, MLK Senior, at a small gathering. What a firebrand he was!
I apologize if I’ve been too personal, but I believe that writing and sharing personal stories is therapeutic and perhaps helpful to others.
I clicked on that link, but didn’t want to go on the site because it wanted me to set up an account and I get enough unwanted junk mail from having done that in the past. Now I only sign up for things I know I want. But I did look up the Epoch Times on wikipedia. It is a media company associated with the Falun Gong religious movement. They are anti communist china, pro Trump,(according to a 2019 NBC report they were second only to the Trump campaign itself in funding pro-Trump Facebook advertising until Facebook banned them for having fake accounts posing as Americans to push political views) and they also support far right politics in Europe. Their ownership and finances get a little murky when you try to figure out exactly who or what is running the show. I say keep in mind they have a huge ax to grind for their own purposes whenever you read their articles.
Epoch Times is not a credible news source.
Yup!
Just seeing Epoch Times in the url would be enough to keep me from clicking. Ewww!
The same people crying “fake news” are getting informed by sites like that and OANN, Newsmax and Russia Today.
I’m sure Russian, Chinese and Iranian propagandists only want the most accurate information for Americans. 😉
I don’t take anything I read or see anywhere as gospel, but I try to listen to and read from a variety of sources, always keeping in mind the old Latin saying: “cui bono”—who benefits?
Thank you for your column.
Absolutely agree that we do have problems as Americans and humanity as a whole. Wouldn’t want to be in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen or a number of other places.
But, as you write about the 60s, just in my lifetime it’s been so much worse. You write about civil rights. Those who were assaulted or killed in that fight. The 58,000 soldiers who died in Vietnam and the countless number who came back damaged by the experience. I tried to get a number of Vietnamese who died, but the numbers are wildly varied. At least a couple hundred thousand.
Even those deaths pale in comparison to our civil war and the world wars. For the average person there’s no better time to be alive than now. Unless it’s in the future because that’s apt to be even better. In any case, it doesn’t do anyone any good to think otherwise.
On the threat of Trump and his cultists, I guess I’m pretty sanguine too. I’m optimistic that, for whatever reason, he’s not going to attain the presidency again. Even if his health holds I don’t believe he’ll be voted in. And if he does, he’s too incompetent to be a dictator and will be surrounded by people just as incompetent. Not to say he can’t do a lot of damage with incompetence.
I’m hopeful the technological means are being developed to identify those who make swatting calls and bomb threats. They should be punished hard when found and it should be widely known that they’re being sent away for a decade or more to discourage others.
One correction. History is replete with examples of incompetent dictators. The Roman Empire was well equipped to survive truly incompetent leaders and there are many, but Commodus might provide insight on what a 2nd Trump “presidency” might look like.
Commodus must’ve gotten short shrift with the likes of Caligula and Nero. I’ll give him a look. Was the commode named after him?
I’m reading Pontius Pilate by Ann Wroe right now, but that was during Tiberius’ time.
Trump’s sole ambition is to be remembered whether it’s for good or bad. It’d kill him to think that someday, like Commodus, he’ll be forgotten.
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
I should’ve remembered him. He was Marcus Aurelius’ failson. It was men like him that convinced the founders to install elections to hopefully ensure succession by competent people and not ne’er do well sons of emperors or reality show frauds.
Ozymandias!
Impermanence is the rule. Eventually all history is lost, but until recently the most lasting was either chiseled in stone or baked into clay tablets. The stuff we shoot into space and escapes earth’s gravity, the trash left on the moon, that stuff will last a really long time. 8 track tapes, CD ROMs, thumb drives, that stuff will disappear quickly. Books packed tight on shelves in some desert library will likely last longer than or technological records.
The permanence of books is a reassuring thought. We can all work to keep our libraries away from the reactionary book burners of our day so that they can be rediscovered Qumran-style someday.
The threat is not just Trump but Trumpism. It's impossible to imagine that the fascism and hatred he's unleashed is simply going to vanish once he leaves politics (probably not until he dies). The forces he unleashed did not come out of nowhere and they're not going to disappear quickly.
On the bright side, I think it’s going to be very difficult for anyone to take Trump’s place when he’s incapacitated for whatever reason. I don’t know a lot about cults, but I don’t think cult leaders are easily replaced. Most seem to end either in mass suicide or as religions.
The state Republican parties in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and likely other states are chaotic messes now as a result of total obedience to Trump. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when even he is not there as a figurehead.
I mention this a lot. Sorry. But, the founders gave us elections because they knew history and what happened in England, Rome and other places ruled by autocrats. Republicans (ironically due to the whole republic thing) no longer honor the results of elections. It’s party dogma to dispute and deny any loss. How do they function as a political party with that mindset?
I agree it's unlikely Trump will be replaced by a single figure anywhere near as influential as him. But what he's unleashed has already been seized upon by minions at the state and local level and a lot of damage has been done there by far "lesser" figures. If you throw a rock at a window, damage is done beyond where the big hole is. It weakens the entire structure.
The biggest danger is you get somebody similar to Trump but with the ability to navigate fascist legislation through Congress. Basically a more competent and disciplined fascist. I mean, if you had someone with Trump's personality and DeSantis' ability to ram through despicable legislation, then our country would really be screwed.
The answer is they don't function as a political party anymore. It is a cult of personality on the highest level. And pure nihilism almost everywhere else.
That's why they are irrelevant in some many places they used to be competitive or even dominate. Did you know that the year I was born (early 70s), Republicans controlled the governorship, state attorney general's office, both US senators and both houses of the legislature. As they've gotten more and more extreme, they haven't won a single statewide election since 2002.
Yeah, I love northern NY, but I have to wonder about where the average person’s head is at.
My father was a columnist for many years at the Trenton Times and later the Trentonian. I am always thrilled to find a connection to what was a golden time for newspapers and my childhood. Dad’s been gone for a long time and I would love to hear his thoughts on the current insane world. Thank you for your writing.
A threat is a threat.
Having someone right up in your face screaming calling you filthy names is frightening.
Having someone tell you they're going to find out where you live,,,, come to your workplace etc scared me immensely at the onset of counter protesting the pro trump groups downtown.
Private messages from grown men and women threatening harm.
I called the police. Can't do anything because they did not say they'd kill me lol. Even though I had an individual on video saying to his friends to find out where I lived.
I slept with lights on in my house for two weeks and had a bat by my bed.
After coming to *know* these idiots I stopped fearing them.
However in this day and age I take all threats seriously as I think there's a mentality out there that actually wants to do harm.
I'm not afraid to speak up but I do think threats are credible and should be taken seriously.
Keeping lights on is the wrong strategy. People can see in plainly and you can’t see out without standing directly in front of a window. An alert dog is your best ally in a situation where you worry about stalkers in your yard.
You are correct about the threats. They are all bluff and just intended to frighten and intimidate you … until they aren’t. January 6th is an excellent example of that, but on a local level those sort of threats are exactly how the Taliban took control of Afghanistan during the US occupation. Everyone can laugh off or ignore a threat until there is one incident of violence, and then the threat starts to seem more serious. In this country we have seen many examples of threats turning into extreme violence, and the psychological tension of living in a society in which threatening behavior is normalized, where radicalized people likely have access to a gun or may in fact be carrying a concealed weapon is damaging the mental health of the whole society.
Yes the good old days were full of good and bad. Many liked the homogenized life, and we felt our childhoods were safe and wonderful. Others’ childhoods were not as pleasant as they are today; many are worse. My soon to be 100 year old dad loved his NYC childhood playing ice hockey and stick ball in the streets in the 1930’s, and later fighting in Normandy and the Philippines during WWll. My children grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and felt their childhoods were the best as well. They are now passing the baton to their children. I am the first in my family to attend college, marched against the Vietnam war, not wanting my friends killed in a war Macnamara finally admitted that our politicians never expected to win. Crime was high in the 1970’s, but we still went to NYC for great music and restaurants after proms and birthdays.
Today we have more information then we did during the so called good old days, however there were abductions, murders, dysfunctional families, domestic violence and other horrors that we just didn’t hear of as often as we do today. Each generation must take it upon itself to bring humanity forward, learn from our past mistakes and enjoy the world we live in. You’re correct Ken when you say that we can improve humanity if we elect leaders who respect our constitution, believe in our democracy, and care more about americas future than their egos.
In our childish ignorance most of us thought our childhood was idyllic and normal. Some of us can look back and understand our mistake. Others carry on in ignorance.
Dear Will,
Thank you for pointing out the crimes commonly committed on people of a darker skin color. Growing up in that atmosphere, I knew, as a "minority", there was no escaping the possibility of being insulted, shunned, rejected and threatened, so, no, I did not exactly have many great "good old days", except for the fact that I knew that many, thousands of decent and courageous people, like you and your father, of every color and ethnic origin, were willling to protest these crimes. They risked everything, their time, their money, their home life, their safety and yes, their lives. This weekend, some people are thinking about those strident times, and hoping that more people join in on the daily struggle against injustice of any kind. It is a pleasure to read comments made by kindred souls.
Both your parents set a high bar for the value of family values, hard-earned educational advancement, and sustained commitment to social justice issues, Will.
Hard act to follow…but a heritage worth emulating…as you have done throughout your career(s) and personal life.
Lyrics/flashbacks from the late ‘60’s/ early ‘70’s from the Byrds’ song “Turn, Turn, Turn…” have been reverberating within my brain lately…remembering my soul-deep ambivalence in not believing in War, but being committed to the care of the Warriors. Remembering it was worth the foot blisters being in the Anti-War March from the San Francisco Bay Bridge up to Golden Gate Park… to offset my angst after working the evening before on my Neurosurgery ward filled with the war’s spinal- cord-injured patients at Oakland Naval Hospital.
Ambivalence has always been a hard emotion to bear, and always will be, as long as we persevere to fight for what we still believe in.
🎼 “To everything there is a season…a time of war, a time of peace…a time to love, a time to hate…a time for peace… I swear it’s not too late…” 🎼. 🙏
I didn't know your family history in journalism and news...Good to read about "history"--personal and national. I was thinking of "maga, make america great again" and how ignorant that is of the complex history of our nation. Last night i saw again a program of Tulsa and the white violence against a thriving, peaceful black community--white domestic terrorism there and actually throughout the Jim Crow South when Blacks were merely trying to vote or attend a school--police violence, civilian violence, lynchings....courts always declaring whites not guilty and blacks guilty......And also our not so good foreign policy, always defending our corporate interests in central and south america, helping to overthrow democratically elected leaders who fought for reforms and the rights of the people, putting in and supporting dictators for sugar, fruit, our corporate interests...Important to know history, to not be misinformed by myths, to do what is right. Today we are celebrating Martin Luther King who fought not only for Civil Rights for Blacks but also recognized the clear connection between militarism (the war in Vietnam), corporate greed, and economic injustice....The same battles now...to actually make america great and good for us all.
Dr. King also launched the war against poverty, not only here, but worldwide. He is now a symbol of courage, when in his time, even other African-American "leaders" shunned him for going "too far" into class reality.
This column brings two quotes from author Robertson Davies to mind:
“The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealised past.” And, “A happy childhood has spoiled many a promising life!”
✌️
Great quotes.
Many things were worse than we ever knew. Research statistics, regarding atrocities by the Ku Klux Klan done following the Civil War, were buried in the National Archives improperly filed under such things as "purchase orders". For a book that begins to unravel the truth about the nascent years of our racist and violent disunity and pain read "Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction" by the historian Fergus M. Bordewich, published in 2023 by Alfred A. Knopf. Some critics have complained of a few publishing and research errors, but with thousands of pages of previously unknown information to go through, Mr. Bordewich has done his best to reveal the true horrors of racism burning in the souls of many powerful men (and women). The legacy of this shame continues to haunt, drive, and divide our unity and hope.
Will
You are correct. I am reading William Manchester's, The Glory and the Dream, a beautifully written story of American history from 1929 to 1970. He captured the good and the bad of that time period. The 30's had the great Depression, the 40's had war, strikes, no civil rights for African Americans, the dreaded Red Scare. The 50's had the Korean War, McCarthy and more civil rights fights. The 60's had Vietnam, assassinations and a drastic cultural change. The world, let alone the USA was not a great place. Yes, there were some good things, but it is always measured with some really bad things.
Our collective goal should be to move forward and try to make things better. Looking back should be used to correct our mistakes, not creating a political unreality.
Great column. I agree with you that our past has a lot to do with our future. We seem to repeat the same darn things over and over. The 60's were a tough time and the antiwar movement caused LBJ to decide to not run for his second term at the very last moment (March of 68) and he put in his vice president to run. I hope the democratic convention this year is not a repeat of the 1968 convention in Chicago. Since this is the first time they decided to return there after the disaster of 68. It seemed like the democratic party kept getting us deeper and deeper into Vietnam and folks were tired of seeing body bags of servicemen coming back from a war they just did not understand. I think the 60's were full of older adults not quite understanding the young adult. The young men were fleeing the US to Canada to avoid the draft and the ones that went were spit on when they came home. Riots and burned-out buildings and it were the time of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. Nixon won to get us out of the war, and he did. Then we got rid of him...I think the only thing most folks miss about the so called good old days were that it only took one income to buy a house. Working at a company with a union that paid well, and you only needed a high school education to still get a good job and folks still had an appreciation of folks who worked in the trades. You could still afford to go to your doctor and dentist in your town and a hospital stay would not bankrupt you. Maybe, the only thing people miss is that they felt better economically compared to now. I remember University of Florida in 1971 cost $160 a quarter and you could take 21 credits at a time to graduate faster. You had no student loans or credit cards back then; you got a job at the college or in town to help pay for it, if you did not have parents that paid, or you used your GI loan that you had after you came back from the worst war that you know the generals above you lost. I think we will never learn from our history since we are destined to keep repeating it like an episode of the Twilight Zone.
God BLESS that brave man!
Meg and I just got back from attending the MLKJr celebration at Christ United Methodist Church, and so just got around to reading your column. Thanks for the reminder that there is still much to be done in the area of civil and human rights.
As someone has said , “Thank God things ain’t what they used to be, but they still ain’t what they oughta be.”
MLKJr Day always stirs up personal memories for me. When I was doing graduate studies in the Boston area, during the 1959-60 school year, MLK spoke one Sunday at Harvard’s Memorial Chapel. Meg and I were there. A marvelous experience!
Then, in the mid-60’s, the civil rights movement moved north, addressing the realities of racism and de facto segregation in the north. In April, 1965, MLK came to Boston. I volunteered to be a marshal for the march, which culminated in a rally on the Boston Common. A memorable moment!
On two occasions MLK —who was an American Baptist pastor—was the keynote speaker for our denomination’s annual meetings. At one of those meetings, I had the privilege of meeting
his father, MLK Senior, at a small gathering. What a firebrand he was!
I apologize if I’ve been too personal, but I believe that writing and sharing personal stories is therapeutic and perhaps helpful to others.
Thank you, Will, for your writing and sharing.