The 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s: More alike than different

Last Updated on September 30, 2010 by Dave Farquhar

Optimism. In an effort to answer a different question, I found myself mapping out the significant news headlines for the last 40 years, and suddenly I understood something.
The 1960s were a decade of activism, international crisis, assasination, racial tension, and political scandal.

The 1970s were a decade of international crisis, massacre, racial tension, and political scandal.

The 1980s were a decade of international crisis, assasination, racial tension, and political scandal.

The 1990s were a decade of international crisis, massacre, racial tension, and political scandal.

I’m 26, part of a generation that’s notorious for being cynical. I wasn’t around in the 60s; the oldest of my peer group watched helplessly; unable to do anything about it or even understand what was happening in a lot of cases. The first of my peer group started turning 20 in the 80s. It wasn’t until the 90s that we were really old enough to have any real power, to make any real change. Few of us showed any interest, and some people wondered why.

I’d never really thought about it before, but we can look back at the last 40 years, see people trying to make changes, and note that for all the rhetoric that was being thrown around in the 60s, if anything, things are worse today than they were in the post-war era.

So that’s why we’re cynical and apathetic. Although, after this week, apparently an awful lot of us are going down to the recruiting office and asking if we can sign up to go kick some butt…

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3 thoughts on “The 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s: More alike than different

  • September 16, 2001 at 6:15 pm
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    We tried to change things in the 60’s.

  • September 16, 2001 at 11:58 pm
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    The 60’s coincided with the growth of the global media. Where images and information could be beamed across the earth in hours/minutes rather than days/weeks.

    I suspect you could argue the 1950s were a decade of international crisis (Russia invades Hungary, 56) (the French in Vietnam, 55) (Korea, 51), racial tension (the beginnings of the civil rights movement) , and political scandal (wasn’t that Nixon and his dog? Chiper, Checkers? )(McCarthyism).

    The ’40, of course, had WWII, the 30’s Hitler and the Great Depression,

    I suspect every decade has its share of international crisis, assassination, racial tension, and political scandal. It is just that in the past (pre 60’s) these events had less direct effect on our lifes and sub conscience.

    Tim

  • September 17, 2001 at 12:48 pm
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    Which plays right into the GenX slacker argument that nothing ever really changes.

    Although the ’20s do seem awfully cool. I could dig waiting in line for the next Fitzgerald novel, or going to the newsstand to read his latest short story. But the ’20s were run by reactionaries like me.

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