All Terrain Thinking

A Compendium of things I think are Important

Consequences In Life, Often Unanticipated

 

20. THE SIXTIES

"I know of no way of judging the future but by the past." - Patrick Henry - 1775

Movies made before the sixties never had blatant sex. Before the sixties, there were infinitesimal, if any drug problems, rampant illegitimacy, blatant homosexuality, graffiti, destroyed cities, incredible crime rates, inflation, welfare, food stamps, public housing, homelessness, outrageous taxes, schools graduating illiterates, and a host of other maladies that have beset America. These things, virtually did not exist before the sixties, except possibly in microscopic amounts.

I will admit to a few public housing units before the sixties, but perhaps one percent of the ones that have been built since, which have destroyed the neighborhoods in which they were built. Drugs were used by a small segment of the population before the sixties, especially marijuana being used by musicians, but not enough to be noticeable, even though drugs were technically made illegal in 1914. Those laws were never enforced, other than perhaps urging Coca-Cola to remove cocaine from its drink. Why do you think it is called "Coke?" There have been homosexuals for centuries, even including Tchaikovsky, but in diminutive numbers, compared to today. It has been since the sixties, that the business of installing alarms on autos, businesses and homes, has become a growth industry. No one ever thought it necessary to invent "The Club" to thwart auto theft before the present times. Many automobiles didn’t even have hood locks on them before the 60's. Before the mid sixties, American movies never even hinted at sex without marriage, and the good guys always triumphed, without an endless demolition derby, and violence for the sake of violence. What happened in the sixties to derail America? Several things, all with disastrous consequences.

One of the perpetrators of the sixties radicalism, too much of which is still with us, was LBJ and his Democrat controlled Congress, which rubber-stamped his every hair brained scheme. His ideas were aimed at creating what he called a "Great Society," but which was, in reality, massive wealth redistribution...camaflouged. American society became not "great," but the opposite. Were the sixties "Great Society" Democrats evil? Not intentionally perhaps, but the consequences of their legislation have destroyed America as it once was, being replaced by the list in the previous paragraph. Not very "great." America has become so used to the above list of atrocities; it seems unable to figure out what happened, why, and how to get out from under the plague of welfare and handouts, as it may be seen to be 'unkind,' or 'inhumane.' People ask, "who will care for the kids, poor, and sick?" Who did it before the sixties? Private charities, churches, and voluntary groups, that's who.

The so called "music" that began in the sixties, and which has unfortunately been adopted by far too many of our youth, is not only ugly, boisterous, and disgusting, but reflects the low class values of that music’s performers. Most rock musicians come from the slums and housing projects, the cult of violence permeating their music. The sixties beget an attitude of, "turn on, drop out, offend everyone, be outrageous, and trivialize centuries held beliefs." The Democrats got us into a war in Viet Nam, which was none of our business, and was not declared by Congress, as the Constitution dictates. That war drew a line down the middle of American society. Those who considered themselves patriotic, said to themselves, "my country, right or wrong," and went and fought in the hideous jungles, the carnality of those battles being previously unknown in warfare. Those who realized the war was unconstitutional, stupid, and had guts, refused to go, migrated to Canada, or in some other way avoided it, as did slimy Bill Clinton…whom I despise. The sixties influences are with us today...like a bad dream. The drugs, filthy senseless music, and warped minds will be around for decades to come, if not forever.

The question remains: Would the destruction, welfare state, arson, ruined cities, acid rock music, crime, homelessness, destroyed minds, latchkey kids, horrible schools, food stamps, the underclass, graffiti, outrageous taxes, and hundreds of other symptoms of a degenerating society, that really got going in the sixties, have happened if LBJ and his Democrat Congress had acted as the Constitution dictates? Also unconstitutional, was the Korean debacle, thanks to Democrat Harry Truman, and which primed us for the cancerous sixties. The sixties razing of America cannot even be remembered by those under 40, because to them it has always been this way. If one has never drunk a fine wine, Thunderbird or Night Train will suffice. If one has never eaten a piece of prime beef or elk, cooked to perfection, McDonalds will seem gourmet. Those over 50, remember America as it was before the sixties, and long for it. The current batch of hatchlings knows no other.

SOLUTIONS

There are no solutions for what has passed. Invaluable, would be for a bright TV journalist to do an exhaustive study of how America was before the sixties, and illustrate it. Show how our dollars have taken a nosedive, as have our cities, air quality, safety, life styles, and even security. Dig up photos, film, and statistics of our once grand cities and families that did well with one wage earner. The goal would be for the journalist to find out for himself, what I speak of and remember so fondly. Take a ride out to West Philly, or Anacostia in D.C., and find footage of them 40 years ago. I first saw "The Music Man" in a theatre in Anacostia, The Naylor, and it was a fine neighborhood then. I lived in and owned property in West Philly, and found it a sheer delight. Now they are rubble. I used to wash my car, in what I still call a "quarter car wash," with the wands and high pressure water streams, only now it is 6 to 8 times that price, using the same machinery, and even the same places of business. Everything is 6 to 8 times as expensive now as it was then, only no one seems to realize just how much inflation and degradation we have had since then. A fine opportunity for an enterprising journalist!

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