"Some men see things as they are and say "why?". I dream things that never were and say, "why not?"
Robert F. Kennedy
Watching the tragic story from Florida unfold and hearing the commentary on that sad killing, I was reminded of thoughts I used to have as I was coming of age in the late 60's and early 70's. My memories of that time included a host of ideas about what the future would look like and how the world would be by the time I reached this age. My vision of the future was so much better than what it turned out be. But who can blame me? Let me tell you about the kinds of influences we had then. The quotation from Kennedy was just a template for our thoughts at that time.
In every respect, the late sixties and early seventies were a time when so many possibilities seemed attainable. Everything, from industry to politics to entertainment, told us that human imagination, and agitation, was at its zenith- that humanity was about to turn the corner on old hatreds and old social conventions- and a new age was about to begin. People, mostly young people, mobilized, demonstrated and got active. We were inspired by great, triumphant events and brought low by horrible violence and sadness on a national level. These two extremes were occurring simultaneously. Just as news of monumental achievements arrived, there was news of another assassination, another riot or another massacre. Even without the 24-hours news cycle we have today it seemed we were inundated with the news events of the day. Somehow it seemed different than the feeling we have today, as we almost sit back and expect the worst, without any expectation of the greatness to temper it. The best news today isn't news of human triumph - but that a new iPAD hit the stores.
I truly believed these events, both good and bad, would most assuredly cause major changes in the world- and the changes would happen in my lifetime. Take for instance the young President Kennedy. This new kind of leader said: we will put a man on the moon. An we did it in eight years just based on his inspiration. He faced down nuclear war and we lived through it. Then, amidst all that hopefulness- he was killed and the nation was profoundly wounded. Then came Johnson who literally willed the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the War on Poverty- only to see his enormous legacy dashed by a useless war in Viet Nam. It was during that time Dr. Martin Luther King inspired hope and led the march for reform so badly needed for a hundred years. He too was killed. The years following his death were marred by riots and violence. Even George Wallace, the old Dixiecrat, was shot by a would-be assassin. To emphasize the rapidity of events: on one June night in 1968 Bobby Kennedy won the California Democratic Primary signifying new hope for a needy nation- only to be gunned down minutes later. Hope and tragedy only foots steps apart. Triumph and despair co-exited in our everyday lives.
It was a time of incredible social innovation. The sixties saw the culmination of Vatican II. A thousand years of liturgy in the Catholic Church changing to include teachings on social justice, personal relevance, and new ways to worship. The color barrier in media began to dissolve. We began to see African Americans in new ways because of specific efforts to make it happen in television programing, even as the streets were burning in the riots. TV shows like Star Trek (a personal favorite of mine) actually showed us a future where men and women served together in equality; where people from every nationality came together for mankind. It was the first depiction of Globalism- and it made sense. The first inter-racial kiss on TV took place in an episode of Star Trek. The stories always had a reference to the lessons of our time, from race relations to war. Logic was revered and the Prime Directive was about tolerance and non-interference. It was fiction, but Roddenberry's imagination told of a world that could be. Even Broadway theatre was changed by the message of "Hair" and the Age of Aquarius. Jesus wasn't the traditional figure of the New Testament, no!- he was a Super-Star. Change was everywhere. Hope was abundant- even amidst chaos.
Against this backdrop of sometimes incredible feats and sometimes tragic events I just knew that advancement would come in great leaps and bounds. I foresaw my version of a better world. I reasoned that burgeoning science would cure disease- cancer would be eradicated. In reality we're getting closer, but there is still so far to go. Today science is sneered at by the greedy and the dogmatic. I thought technology would free man's mind to lofty heights- not enslave it to video games. I thought women would enjoy full social and economic equality by now. But, here and now we are again debating who controls a woman's body- a giant step backwards. I reasoned that with all the losses we suffered from gun violence and assassinations, our people would most certainly know to rid themselves of guns and make a less violent world- that we would learn from our collective losses. In reality the opposite has happened. As one commentator said- all of our recent gun laws promote and expand gun use and ownership, instead limit their violent potential. (even in light of daily horrific shootings) I believed that the racial tumult of the 50's and 60's would lead us to understanding and unity- that we would have to see the futility of racism. Sadly, racism and gun violence continue to live in too many hearts. The confluence of those two evil forces are what we saw in the Trayvon Martin case. It did not occur to me that the notion of "standing your ground" would be valued more highly than the notion of trying harder to live in harmony and justice. I truly thought our society would recognize the intrinsic value of caring for one another and providing for one another and that our national resources would be used to live out that promise. Instead we live in a society who's chief characteristic is a completely lop-sided distribution of wealth that is only getting worse- and the current debate centers on what to cut- not what to build. I never imagined a future with so much wealth concentrated with so few, while human suffering is spreading. I never saw a 21st Century where 60 million of us don't have health care. My utopia was very different because all the lessons of war, poverty, violence and bigotry seemed so plain to see, and correct if we paid attention to the lessons that were so clearly visible. I asked myself how much a people would take- could take- before it would be so widely recognized that change must happen.
As I said, these were boyhood fantasies of a world vision. They were the musings of an adolescent trying to see the world he was about to enter, believing that progressive thinking would lead the way. We had leaders then that inspired our spirit with words that lifted us. I sorely miss that today. But as disappointing as it is to realize my utopia didn't materialize, I still hold on to many of the same hopes. My continued hope springs from the exceptional experience of raising our children. I see in them and their children a renewed belief they can achieve a better world-that these ideas aren't gone forever. I still believe there can be a world where compassion rules over greed, tolerance rules over bigotry, and reason rules over hatred. It just didn't happen as fast I hoped for back then. I continue to see the lessons we should learn from in the sad events of the day, and the promise that our technology, knowledge, and reason suggests for the future- just as I did then. I've come to realize that the struggle to achieve these changes never really ends- its just passes to the next generation to perfect.
"Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one person can do against the enormous array of the world's ills, misery, ignorance and violence. Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. And in the total of those acts will be written the history of a generation."
Robert F. Kennedy
Thanks for looking in.
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