tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604786551569475561.post3330408820481674961..comments2023-09-19T18:16:04.878-04:00Comments on Jeff Epton's In & Out: The Contested Terrain of the 1960sJeff Eptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15032123875722494329noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604786551569475561.post-67579377281204116592014-02-01T06:56:49.615-05:002014-02-01T06:56:49.615-05:00Yes, I agree, Eric. The '60s liberation moveme...Yes, I agree, Eric. The '60s liberation movements were a natural historical consequence of long-term trends, but I don't believe many people could have predicted their militance and political impact. Those movements changed legal and political systems, dramatically limited the war-making capacity of the strongest military power in the history of the world, created new work-life opportunities for millions and revamped our society and culture.<br /><br />Those movements and the good that they did also faced a fierce counter-attack from corporations and the Right that have resulted, so far and among other things, in dramatic historical revisionism, corporate "free speech," unregulated political spending, new voter suppression laws, wage stagnation, a volunteer/mercenary army and the highest rate of incarceration in the world. This is only a short list of obstacles that Left popular movements must overcome. In the face of those difficulties, your optimism is admirable (and necessary).Jeff Eptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15032123875722494329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604786551569475561.post-30175725835140550422014-02-01T06:38:01.141-05:002014-02-01T06:38:01.141-05:00Thanks for responding. A life of engagement, to be...Thanks for responding. A life of engagement, to be sure. And I've got so many questions. When was the trip to Russia? Who organized it/what was its purpose?<br /><br />What are your political conversations, if any, with your southern Ohio friends? What happens to your suppressed anger?Jeff Eptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15032123875722494329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604786551569475561.post-59287970019540103982014-01-30T22:50:19.591-05:002014-01-30T22:50:19.591-05:00The "myth" of the 60's is especially...The "myth" of the 60's is especially useful to the Right because it allows them to imagine that what happened was some sort of accident or mistake. There was a uniquely spoiled generation that screwed everything up; by implication, there might be some sort of reversal when that generation passes from the scene. <br /><br />In reality, of course, the 60's were more an intensification of long-term trends in American history. African-Americans had been fighting injustice from the beginning; the sexual revolution, the change in the roles of women, and the self-asssertion of gays had more to do with urbanization than ideology. Seen this way, it becomes inconceivable that there could be an effective roll-back. The Right will try -- and hurt a lot of people in the process -- but our side is sure to win.Eric Ebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04071566437181995357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604786551569475561.post-36073250660462145662014-01-30T14:55:47.045-05:002014-01-30T14:55:47.045-05:00Born in 1940, teaching English literature in the 1...Born in 1940, teaching English literature in the 1960's,joining MLK's march on Washington. Being in the classroom when JFK was shot and school was dismissed early. Living thru the Cuban missile crisis which precipitated fallout shelter construction mania. Teaching our students where to go in the classroom if we were bombed. Coming back from a trip to the USSR with slide programs which underscored how most Russians had been taught English as a second language. Response often was that they knew speaking English led to more power and asserting that we powerful Americans had no reason to study another language, particularly Russian. So much more. Result in me was suppressed anger. Kind of still there because half of my time is now lived in southern Ohio where "friends" are still nonthinking (shall I say it, "ignorant") Tea Party members.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com