To boldly go where we have gone before! to the 1960s and back...

I love Star Trek. Firstly, being made in the mid 60s, it offered up a hopeful view of the future in a decade that witnessed more than four assassinations of prominent national figures. I know, I appear to be fascinated by this decade, and yes, to a certain extent I admit to this. It was one of those watershed moments in American history. Beginning with Kennedy's murder in 1964, the whole decade just started to go to the dogs.

For some, the sixties represented freedom. As a child growing up in suburbia, I was sheltered from much of the craziness happening just 8 miles away in Topanga Canyon--southern california's equivalent of Haight Ashbury. But, later on, I began to grow some awareness of the leftovers of the sixties--for me it was the wearing of Levis and platform shoes when I was 12, and the floppy hats with tie dyed t shirts. This was the time of the Watergate hearings--a time for the loss of innocence for an entire culture. American innocence and arrogance was DOA.

And yet, for me, the sixties always represented Hippies. The Summer of Luv. Irresponsible

young people who dissed their parents for a fashion statement (and that was questionable at best). It was also represented by discord, discontent, and

disestablishment. And yet, one cannot help but remember this unfortunate decade like the above gathering-- young people trashing their cerebral spinal fluid with such wholesome things as LSD, Peyote, and psychedelic mushrooms. Mind expansion my ass. I think that many of them followed Tim Leary, in having their collective brains shot from a cannon into the upper atmosphere.

I often think of this ridiculous cultural atmosphere with trepidation--how could such heights coexist and contrast with such dregs? It's true that not every decade is so very very violent and yet so ridiculous in terms of fashion and debauchery.

Lest we forget, that this was also the era of the Civil Rights Movement, and Women's Liberation, and the Civil Rights Act, it wasn't all bad. But then we must also remember those deaths I alluded to above, of which JFK was just one. And, yet again, one cannot forget that these were the same people who gave us Adam West as Batman. Holy Ketchup Batman!

Comments

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury...trying the Nazi bastard hierarchy....(2)

Every time I think about WW2, and its' aftermath, I think of this song by Dylan: Dylan lends gravitas to just about anything, don't you find? And the sixties, when the song was written, were hard times, during which the 'hard rain' fell in the aftermath of World War II. And now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast, the Nurenberg trials. Now, let us further imagine that we had a chance to hold accountable some of the Nazis for the horrors seen at the concentration camps as they were liberated by the Allies Additionally, the victors of World War II were hard pressed to understand in a cultural sense, both the German and Japanese Prisoners. Is difficult to ascertain how a society could have fallen under Hitler’s spell, but they did. It is also difficult to understand the Japanese response to external industrialisation. In their case, the code of Buchito made it possible for them to conquer so much of the Pacific Rim. As far as the German people are concerned, my ex...

Some Justice at Nuremberg--what (probably) you never wanted to know about the post Nazi bastard WW2 trials, ONE.

NOTE: please accept my apology Dear Reader, for any who may have ventured forth on this blog of late. It has been a long time since I last posted...my mother died, and I decided to live briefly on Venus. But, I have returned, and hopefully you will still come along on some new adventures, even if they are bitter--as th is entry most certainly is.... I have written, in this blog, many warnings about absolute power. I have also dealt with the problems that come into focus, when individuals are seduced by that power, to the detriment of plebs. So, there probably isn't that much left to say, excepting the fact that this seems to be an inexhaustible subject, due to the endless samples that continually present themselves. What I'd like to do in this entry, is to look a little bit at beginnings, and endings. Hopefully, you might see a few parallels, and forgive me pointing them out along the way. This is only my POV, however, please r...

Just a Fourth of July wish for us all

It's the time of corn on the cob, red white and blue flags, hot dogs, and beer. And fireworks. Of course fireworks. Overall, a time for Americans to celebrate the end of our eighteenth century revolt against the authority and overlord-ship of England. I hope that you will all enjoy your hamburgers and beer, as I know that you will all reflect for a second or two on the wonder of free speech and the right to assembly. Freedom (well, relative freedom) is a pretty nice thing. So, Dear Reader, enjoy your fourth. If you're curious, check out any of these entertainments: I watch them every single year and remember that without John Adams, we'd all be pretty screwed in this country: https://dai.ly/x2ngcau . 1776. A campy but marvellous musical based on the broadway play. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00687PWQG/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r A wonderful doc-series on the life and times of John and Abigail Adams. Try them out Dear Reader, and enjoy your day t...

Penelope’s Loom

Search This Blog