Nostalgia? Not much!
Yeah, I know, in 1969, I was all of 5 years old, so I don't get to feel any nostalgia. But I grew up in the 70s and 80's and I got a good heady whiff of what the kids back then had been smoking... and I miss it.
Mostly I miss the idea of counter-culture. If you were of voting age when the Vietnam "police action" was going on, you could find a broad consensus the these United States were going in the wrong direction. And there was support and succor to be had among those who agreed with you. These days, (from my limited perspective) the wars in Iraq and Afganistan and again in Iraq, they are something to grumble about. But they're not something to rally around.
Just for fun, let's tally up my 'natural' affinity groups, in no particular order:
Anti-car, pro-bicycle, pro-mass transit, anti-gas subsidy
Boycott Isreal/human rights for Palestine/end the occupation/stop bombing Gaza
Occupy Wall Street/end rent backed securities/jail not bonuses for the BankGangsters
The CopyFight/RIAA vs everyone else. Micropayments. DRM is broken and cannot ever be fixed.
The time bank movement. Local currencies. Bitcoin.
Tarriffs on Natural gas. Stop(regulate!) Fracking. The Pacific Gyre is full of plastic. (and the US is building new plastic production because of cheap natural gas.)
Global Warming. The anthrogenic kind. Science vs denialism.
Autism. Gluten Free. Vaccines. Anti-science vs stupid people.
Hobby Drones for peaceful purposes, end the FAA ban
Athiesm-the happy kind, not the angry kind. Universal Unitarianism, the athiest kind. One can talk science and still claim to have a soul.
Polyamory. Sex Positive culture. Legalize prostitution. Morman Polygamy, Muslim Polygamy, what makes theirs wrong and ours right?(SWINGERS VS POLY: can't we all get along?)
End rape culture. Feminism. Woman's right to choose vs "pro-lifers"
Catholic Church human rights abuses and coverups.
Too many unwanted Pets!
Gee, it sure is a shame that after 60 years of nuclear energy production, the US still doesn't have a civilian waste disposal program in place!
Renewable energy is not exotic energy
Micheal Brown. Fergeson. David Brame. Milton Olin Jr. Police militarization, corruption is out of control. Civil forfeiture needs reform.
We eat too much of the wrong kinds of meat. Factory farming, not so much. Antibiotic use is out of control.
Single Payer Healthcare.
Intersexed babies need a thrid tickybox for the birth certificate, neither male nor female. Stop all genital mutilation. (and lets scale back circumcision while we're at it)
Burning Man needs to sell tickets to named individuals only. Plug and Play camps need to be audited.
Why is "Evidence Based Medicine" even a controversy? How much of medicine could be better handled in terms of hygiene instead of engineering? The science of Medicine is in deep trouble, and I think we're all being used as Guinea pigs in ethically questionable medical experiments.
Something more interesting than the ISS should be happening in space. I don't like to argue with Ayn Rand's followers about what that should be.
Bipolar is a condition, not an illness. So is being on the autism spectrum. Neurodiversity should be a human right.
.....and I'm out.
How many of these political issues were even on the horizon in 1969? How could one community or movement encompass or address all of these questions?
I have a growing suspicion that-with the exception of the global warming one- all of these are going to be moot points fairly soon.
Mostly I miss the idea of counter-culture. If you were of voting age when the Vietnam "police action" was going on, you could find a broad consensus the these United States were going in the wrong direction. And there was support and succor to be had among those who agreed with you. These days, (from my limited perspective) the wars in Iraq and Afganistan and again in Iraq, they are something to grumble about. But they're not something to rally around.
Just for fun, let's tally up my 'natural' affinity groups, in no particular order:
Anti-car, pro-bicycle, pro-mass transit, anti-gas subsidy
Boycott Isreal/human rights for Palestine/end the occupation/stop bombing Gaza
Occupy Wall Street/end rent backed securities/jail not bonuses for the BankGangsters
The CopyFight/RIAA vs everyone else. Micropayments. DRM is broken and cannot ever be fixed.
The time bank movement. Local currencies. Bitcoin.
Tarriffs on Natural gas. Stop(regulate!) Fracking. The Pacific Gyre is full of plastic. (and the US is building new plastic production because of cheap natural gas.)
Global Warming. The anthrogenic kind. Science vs denialism.
Autism. Gluten Free. Vaccines. Anti-science vs stupid people.
Hobby Drones for peaceful purposes, end the FAA ban
Athiesm-the happy kind, not the angry kind. Universal Unitarianism, the athiest kind. One can talk science and still claim to have a soul.
Polyamory. Sex Positive culture. Legalize prostitution. Morman Polygamy, Muslim Polygamy, what makes theirs wrong and ours right?(SWINGERS VS POLY: can't we all get along?)
End rape culture. Feminism. Woman's right to choose vs "pro-lifers"
Catholic Church human rights abuses and coverups.
Too many unwanted Pets!
Gee, it sure is a shame that after 60 years of nuclear energy production, the US still doesn't have a civilian waste disposal program in place!
Renewable energy is not exotic energy
Micheal Brown. Fergeson. David Brame. Milton Olin Jr. Police militarization, corruption is out of control. Civil forfeiture needs reform.
We eat too much of the wrong kinds of meat. Factory farming, not so much. Antibiotic use is out of control.
Single Payer Healthcare.
Intersexed babies need a thrid tickybox for the birth certificate, neither male nor female. Stop all genital mutilation. (and lets scale back circumcision while we're at it)
Burning Man needs to sell tickets to named individuals only. Plug and Play camps need to be audited.
Why is "Evidence Based Medicine" even a controversy? How much of medicine could be better handled in terms of hygiene instead of engineering? The science of Medicine is in deep trouble, and I think we're all being used as Guinea pigs in ethically questionable medical experiments.
Something more interesting than the ISS should be happening in space. I don't like to argue with Ayn Rand's followers about what that should be.
Bipolar is a condition, not an illness. So is being on the autism spectrum. Neurodiversity should be a human right.
.....and I'm out.
How many of these political issues were even on the horizon in 1969? How could one community or movement encompass or address all of these questions?
I have a growing suspicion that-with the exception of the global warming one- all of these are going to be moot points fairly soon.