I remember very well the protests of the sixties. Growing up in that decade and going into the 70’s, there was a lot of unrest. Wars and differing politics always lay the groundwork for general strife. Are we reliving it today?  Maybe we are to a point, but I see many differences too.

The protests of the sixties brought together the hippies of then, with the straight-laced older generation. You had long hair vs. short and clean-cut. Suits versus torn bell bottom jeans. Staunch political views versus why can’t we all just love one another. Sound familiar?

Police were called pigs back then. They beat unruly protestors and sometimes not so unruly ones, with batons and threw tear gas at them. Remember four dead in Ohio? The killing of four students at Kent State in 1970, brought to light just how serious the situation in this country had become. Not to mention those earlier years where we endured the assassinations of  Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Rioters took to the streets of many major cities, burning them down, mine being one. We went through nights of curfews, where even in the suburbs, you were off the street by 8 pm.

Many of us were teenagers during that time.  We watched in horror as our nation was going through turmoil. But one thing most of us didn’t do, was to give up on our country. The protests of the sixties and seventies also brought with it some hope for the future. This is where I see the difference in what is going on now.

A different generation has raised the protestors we see today. My parents lived through two wars and a depression. They survived. The baby boomers, myself included in that group, made it through the Cold War, Vietnam, and Watergate. The Millennials of today come in many varieties as we all did. Some look like hippies personified, while others look like those rigid older capitalists they despise. They need to go back in history and read up on the similarities between themselves and the older generations. They might find the connection. And so my generation should allow themselves to do the same thing.

Instead of seeing just protestors who many think have no direction, think back. Protestors of the sixties lacked focus, were self-indulgent and didn’t want to hear anything but what they were saying. A coincidence, probably not. I recall burning flags back then. It’s not all that different, is it!

The 60’s and 70’s will always have their special place in the history of our great country. I said great because all those today, who are screaming for change, must think it’s a great one too. Otherwise, why are they wasting their time and energy fighting for something so important. We won’t tell them that though!