The Long Way Home

I woke up the other day and re­membered that I am an old man. Not because I’m out yelling at squirrels and pigeons to get off my lawn, which I do to scare them away so I can take the dog out safely. It’s be­cause I wake up with a unique per­spective on the turmoil of the day, gained from living through a period of significant social and political turbulence, the 60s and 70s. Riots and political violence, along with a healthy fear of Soviet communism, seemed like a regular part of life.

Coming of age then didn’t in­clude a sense of despair, so much as a sense of urgency. Urgency to get on with life, because we could be vaporized in an instant if Kruschev pressed a button.

Memories of those days, and our struggles to get past them, bubbled up when some political organizer named Charlie Kirk was gunned down in front of a couple of thou­sand college kids with cell phone cameras. I didn’t know much about this latest victim of a public shoot­ing. I guess he was opposite John Fugelsang (whoever that is) in his political leanings, but just as well known to his “group.” Both are obscure to those of us in the real world.

Then, I discovered that another group arose, the Groypers. They are a decentralized, far-right, white nationalist movement. Primarily led by a guy named Nick Fuen­tes, a political commentator and host of the America First podcast, Groypers promote white national­ist and Christian nationalist beliefs, known for being antisemitic, an­ti-immigrant, and anti-LBGTQ+.

We boomers grew up with similar groups. Several emerged on both the left and right, engaging in heat­ed rhetoric and political violence in one way or another.

The Weather Underground, a mil­itant, far-left organization, emerged from the Students for a Democrat­ic Society, a student activist group. They engaged in a campaign of bombings and other violent acts to protest the Vietnam War and rac­ism. The Symbionese Liberation Army, a small, far-left group active from 1973 to 1975, sought to insti­gate a guerrilla war against the U.S. government.

The white supremacist hate group Ku Klux Klan saw a resurgence during the Civil Rights era, using violence and intimidation to op­pose racial equality. The Minute­men, a paramilitary organization, formed in the 1960s to oppose a feared communist takeover. They stockpiled weapons and engaged in paramilitary exercises.

The world was on edge. “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” was censored in the 1960s because their show was a platform for political and social satire, clashing with CBS network executives and the conservative estab­lishment of the time. The show frequently included jokes and sketches critical of the Vietnam War and the government. Network executives did not want to alienate audiences or the govern­ment. A notable example was the censorship of folk singer Pete See­ger’s performance of “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” an anti-war song.

The Smothers Brothers regularly featured musical acts and comedi­ans who were part of the counter­culture movement. Some of these artists were seen as too provocative. For instance, a segment with Har­ry Belafonte performing against a backdrop of footage from the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests was cut by the network.

Broadcasters considered racism, drug use, and religion to be taboo in those days. As the Brothers became more political, CBS began demand­ing that they submit their shows for pre-broadcast review, leading to a constant battle over content. The network often cut entire segments without the Brothers’ permission. CBS abruptly canceled the show in 1969, despite high ratings.

Constant political upheaval and the pervasive sense that the future was uncertain placed intense stress on American families at the time. Economic stress contributed to the broader sense of instability and un­certainty prevalent during the era.

The backdrop of the Cold War colored our lives with a sense of impending doom and the specter of nuclear war. We kids practiced “duck and cover” drills at Cen­tennial Elementary School, sitting on the floor along interior walls with our heads tucked between our knees–literally learning to kiss our ass goodbye.

Today’s challenges sadden me. It seems like we’ve come full circle. The progress of half a century ap­pears doomed. As I reflect on mem­ories of the 1960s, I am reminded that the fight for change is ongoing to create a just and equitable soci­ety. But one step forward and five steps back is getting old, like me.