I was just 14 when I glimpsed what I thought were the seeds of modern-day American society getting it together, as one. A start…
I watched and read of inspiring movements, people standing up for democratic ideals, the so-called American dream and all that. I was stunned as college students at two universities were gunned down in May, 1970. People angry about a dubious war and the bizarro world whereby those who fought for the U.S.A. in that unwinnable war were sadly ridiculed upon their return to the U.S.A. Black Power became a force to be reckoned with 100 years after slavery was allegedly purged; women’s lib(eration) found its voice, and it was a loud one; gay rights were based on “simple” rights supposedly guaranteed to everyone (as written in America’s formulation documents)… it all unfolded in daily conversations, on TV, and in newspapers, while I was struggling to figure out my own place, purpose, and destiny. Would all of this make sense; how would it play out?
And I remember saying to myself (because, after all, who else would listen?) amid the upheaval, uncertainty, violence, fear, inconsistencies and vibrancy… I envisioned, among the protest songs and loud rock that became such a dear ally that “…this is the beginning of change! And if I’m still here in 50-years, these moments will lead to more acceptance, celebrating or acknowledging differences, and realizing (as U2 sang many years later) that ‘…we’re one, but we’re not the same’”- that could/should be America’s mantra!
And so here we are, more than a half century later, and we’re regressing on so many societal issues after it seemed that we’d experienced a true understanding, empathy, and showing that we really can straddle even difficult contradictions, and not remain steadfastly opposed, but rather seeking common ground (to paraphrase line from U2’s Bono, again).
If I was 14 years old today, could I look at our sometimes-post-truth, take-it-or-leave-it world (which thankfully still provides daily stories of human hope, caring, and redemption) and say “ahhh, this is the beginning! Just wait; 50 years from now…”
I don’t know; I naïvely thought that we shouldn’t judge or care where someone came from or what they looked like, but should aim to relate based on actions, temperance, character, integrity, empathy, listening, and soul. So would I still be that dreamer, or a skeptic, if I was 14 now?
Think about it…