Tuesday, January 2, 2024

1968 Forever


 John Carlos, Tommie Smith and Peter Norman 
1968 Olympics


1968.  What comes to mind?  Vietnam? King on the balcony? Kennedy in the kitchen?

For us, the immediate image is Grant Park.  Clean for Gene and Abby Hoffman up against "Shoot to Kill" Daley and the Cops.

1968.  Not just here, but everywhere.  Students protesting in Paris, Germany, in the Soviet countries, and being gunned down in Mexico City.  1968 was a world wide movement. An explosion of determination to change despite the brutal efforts to suppress it.

Anand Giridharadas is a journalist and an astute observer of the current scene.  He says that the only movement here now is around Trump and Trumpism. Ugh.

The last time I felt like playing my Pete Seeger album was when Bernie burst on the scene.  There has to be a better response to Trump than "you have no choice but to vote the other way,"

My hope is that 2024 has some of 1968 still left for us to call upon.


1 comment:

  1. Biden has done a remarkable job in a world full of trouble that is impossible to satisfy. We are lucky to have him.

    ReplyDelete