Do You Know What the Beatles Are? Bugs?
I remember moving from Utah, to California, and going to school, as a fourth grader, at a school on Zelza Avenue, in Northridge, California, I think my elementary school's name, was Prairie Street School, yeah, the epicenter, years later, when the earthquake rocked that very area and school! But, on the first day of school, several kids in my class, came, up, wanting to know, if this chick from Utah, was hip enough to know, who the Beatles were, so they clocked the question, with "what" rather than "who", which would not have changed my answer, nor given me that savvy cool edge, these kids wanted to know, to see if I fit in their cooler than cool crowd . . . and they laughed and laughed, when I said, with a grimace, knowing there had to be a catch, because, everyone, knew, what beetles are, so? Then, deciding to include me in their cliche, they showed me the Beatles cards, with the faces of John, Paul, Ringo and George, they were collecting, all showing me their personal favorite, with me being partial to Paul McCartney, whom I thought was the best looking. But, I also, learned about the band, the Monkeys, and I think, I liked Davy Jones, if that is his name, that has been awhile, even better than Paul!
That was probably, my first introduction, to the culture. I was in 3rd grade, when President Kennedy was shot, and that, probably started me, on the adventure of being a child of that generation, with all that went with it. While I was not overly aware of everything, I had older cousins, who exposed me to the Beach Boys, and told me who Jim Morrison of the Doors, took his clothes off, or flashed the crowd of concert goers in Utah, at Lagoon, an entertainment park, who banned the Doors and their rowdy band forever! LOL! I remember seeing the Beatles on TV, went to see the movie, Yellow Submarine, which was hilarious, and being caught up in the hole generation. I was not overly rebellious, at all, because, I believe of my Mormon upbringing, that kept me from going too far astray; however, my husband, Richard C. Secrist, sort of a childhood bully, bad boy, but, interest, just two years older than me, did the whole 60's thing, the experimentation with drugs, the long hair, the music, the commune living, until he saw, some guy wasted, up against a tree, homeless and out of his mind, while he was at a park, throwing frisbies one day. He ended up, getting into a big argument on religion with his girlfriend, and ended up defending Mormonism, came back to church, and went on a Mormon mission to Holland. But, he had to draw a draft card, was looking at going to Vietnam, with his father a WWII vet, telling him to be a conscientious objector, and told him if he got a low draft number, hihack it up to Canada, he had been on the beach at Normandy, during the invasion, and didn't want his son, experiencing what he had.
I remember watching movies, like Platoon and Deer Hunter, after the war was over, showing the messed up and convoluted confusion, leaving troops, wondering, who was in charge and what their goals over their were. I recall, seeing the race riots, the cops spraying down black protesters, seeing the sit-ins and seeing the 4 students shot down, on Kent State University. I saw it all, and it had a huge impact on me, and probably did more to shape me, than my family, my church, my community, and the social fabric that I was raised in . . . probably leading to where I am now! Demanding justice, revolting against an establishment, fighting for the rights of the oppressed, and speaking against war, and more for diplomacy, if possible. My cousin, Jimmy Woodard, went to Vietnam, and he was on the front line, 7 times, never got injured, but back on base, he was jumped by several blacks, who beat the shit out of him . . . racial tensions.
Just this morning, I was talking about a friend, who wondered where the hell, I was yesterday afternoon, missing the very lecture, I lectured him, on why he should go, and learning for learning sake, and we were sharing what we both got from our individual and separate, lectures, he missing the later, and me being, detained and stopped by the CIA, with those rebel roots, of the 60's and the fires of justice, rolling strong and hard in me, and I, again, in true 60's fashion, with the feminists being born, and making waves, against old traditional roles of women, wanting to take charge of their bodies, resulting in birth control and abortion, stated that I had read a book, called The Science of Power, and how the fighting days of men, are over, and the women, will save civilization, through diplomacy, relationships, and other means, besides, blowing the shit out of each other. So, yeah, we are a product of our generation, another reason, Rachel or whoever, is not, a good or viable substitute for ME! Fuck NO, she came from another era, not the one I love, and she, no more represents what I stand for, what I fought for, and what I fight for now! Nor do any of the other, fraud broads, closer to my age, and going through the same era . . . they were not affected the same way!
Not My Father's Daughter, In Religion . . . Professor Kazin (Kay's In) . . . Symbolic and Reason for Substitution! lol!, but He Said, Nothing Changed So Much in the 60's, as Religion!
They say, 90% of your success in life, is who you marry, and while divorced, I believe that to be so true, and I am grateful, for the very, straight/liberal, sometimes Democrat and sometimes Republican, reformed, so to say, hippy, husband, who turned me on to the music of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, and bathed me, in free thought, openly entertaining, discussion on any subject, often, clashing with my father, at family parties, and standing our ground, as we explored other possibilities, sources of religious power, taking a critical look at our own parent's religion, on both sides, leaving the door open for the possibility things might be right, but seeing other things, that might be total bull shit, and often, reading, discussing, debating, and inspiring the other to engage, as intellectual seekers, not only in the field of religion, but politics, and other areas of life and living, having the fortitude to chart our own course, even in divorce, with him, supporting and encouraging me, to fulfill all I was, and developing my talents, often, being mocked, and distrusted by my family, like in scoffing at my going to law school, or giving my children to my husband, as the primary care giver, while I attended law school, with him supporting me every step of the way, from, being an undergraduate student, of only, a year of college, encouraging me, helping to overcome guilt, and expanding my horizons, even 4 years before I actually went to law school, saying he would watch the kids, if I wanted to go to law school, during the week and come home on the weekends!
I was separate and distinct, from my family, from birth, with all my family, being born in Utah, for generations, and all the other 7 members of my family, while I was born, on Port Hueneme, Navy Base, in California, when my father was a spy for the Air Force, and where do my loyalties, land, not for the Mormon Church, and Utah has been an enemy of mine, having different passions, and dedications to the United State Constitution, seeing a very distinct line between church and state, with Mormons needing to butt out of politics, the police departments and the courts, plus, using their influence in the legislature. The generations, before the 60's, very much, practiced the religions of their fathers, or mothers, and had for generations . . . that all changed in the 60's, to more of a personal relationship with religion, going from one to the other, depending, on what part of their lives they were in, being Catholic or Mormon, going to Baptist, or non-denominational Christian, freely moving, in and out, or to no religion at all! Me and my husband, Richard or Zeke as I called him, were very much into the intellectual side of the Mormon Church, we subscribed to Sunstone and Diolague magazines, and we were personal friends, with people who presented papers, looking critically, at the church and authorities, and everything from scripture to the prophets, we were associates of the September 7, a group of very smart people, who were all excommunicated from the Church for questioning, with many of my friends, wondering if I, would also be excommunicated for writing a scholarly paper on Mother in Heaven, and evidence of her existence in the Bible, Josephus, the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Code of Hammurabi, and other scholarly ancient texts.
One summer, while I was a quasi faculty member, as an undergraduate student, at Weber State University, and running the satellite tutoring center at the dorms, for the English Department, I had a faculty, library card and checked out, 30 books, on ancient world religions, myth, and folklore! Much of that reading, had a huge impact on my life also, all, being discussed and through about, in open dialogue with my very smart husband, and often in the ears of my, now, free range, children, who are very free to belong to a religion of their choice, or to have none at all. My kids, kind of get this freedom, from two avenues, from their parents, acceptance, and also, from the Constitutional, allowance for citizens, to freely exercise their religion, without the establishment of a particular religion, and being very secular, in my politics. We very much had a home of seekers, open thought, and that is evidenced by the span of religious spectrum, in our four children, going from, very staunch Mormon, to non-denominational Christian, to the good man theory, or the philosopher king, to an atheist or agnostic, and open, seeing a Bible on my son's night table, too! This generation of seekers, don't have to inherit their religion, they inherit, the pulls for with their passions strive, whether in a group, church, or a personal quest for perfection!
Not With My Life You Don't!
This was a statement that became connected to the Vietnam war, and questioning the draft, seeing their friends, sons, husbands, coming back confused and messed up, wondering what the fuck the whole goal and mission of the war, with lies about the body count, returning service men, being trashed, and student, going to war, storming the White House and President Nixon, wondering if the establishment, knew what they were doing over in Vietnam, other than making money for the war machines, that were being trashed, and written about in the music, the lyrics, and the poetry of the day, in the 60's, probably the first time, citizens, people, women, and the general populace, didn't just go along with what the government said. My second husband, started the anti-war movement on his ship at sea, while actually a soldier, when he went from a naive, all American boy, from the mid west, wanting to serve his country, realizing, he was not serving the country, he was making money for the government contractors, who were building the bombs, making the tanks, and leaving the soldiers, dazed and confused, while running around the jungles, wondering why they couldn't just go to war to win, and with many getting trashed for doing so! This was not the attitude of the generations of the past, that never questioned authority, nor looked into the motives behind the government actions!
We see, remnants of this thinking, in Don't tread on me . . . and Not in This State! With people, standing their ground, and forcing the government to make sense of their actions, their wars, and what is behind them . . . why do you think, the Oklahoma Bombings of the federal building was necessary, and 9/11 World Trade Towers going down? Because, of those alleged terrorist attacks, the raging anger of the 60's and all the baby boomers, who are the ones in power, owning businesses, and having control of the wealth, and also the older generation . . . they are not going to just blindly follow, like former generations, they were the hippies, the flower children, the protesters . . . they needed to create, some emergency, so crisis, so boogie man, so they didn't have the resistance, to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Had there not been these to events, Americans of the 60's generation, would have balked at entering these wars, very much, reminiscent of the Vietnam style war! They would have had a read problem on their hands . . . . makes you wonder, building 7 is still a mystery to me, and false flags attacks?
The Quality of Life, During the 60's Was Better
Like I mentioned in the title, there was an economic prosperity that the world had never seen before, with parents for the first time, sending children to college, not being of the upper classes, or the elite, making student loans, and college, within the grasp of the average son or daughter, creating, not only the atmosphere that most likely brought about the liberal left, but the students, and people had time to devout to social issues and reform. I was watching a true crime show, about some man, in Florida, who was murdered, and came from a very famous and wealth family, who owned, a hotel, world famous, for its luxury, being built in the 60's, with glamour and style, at its height, the Blue something hotel. After the 60's, the economic outlook was not as good, the Vietnam War, had stolen a lot of the optimism and innocence of America, and reality hit, along with a country embattled in a 10 year war, taxes, and changes, during the 70's.
During the 60's, families had climbed out of the depression, WWI and WWII, and were in a state of economic recovery, with spendable income, family vacations, TV, and space exploration . . . leading to TV shows, like Star Trek. The arts, and funding, went from private sources, the rich, to being supported by government grants, with tax payers money, being dedicated to developing the arts, to museums and community arts programs, to works of art being commissioned, to enhance the looks of a city, or park or walk way. Americans were able to dabble in the arts, with extra money, to put kids in piano, ballet, dance, oil panting, and along came the advent of sports, and money to spend, on the extras, in life, the fun, entertainment, and enjoying the environment, leading to people wanting to preserve it, to fight for it, and spend their money to conserve it, leading to better management, groups like the Sierra Club and others, fighting the industrial complexes that had raped the land, for profit, leaving, towns, resources, and families, used abused and depleted, leading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, Super Funds, and also, Occupational Hazard or OSHA, to not just grind the faces of the people, for the money makers and corporate America, but to actually watch, value, protect, those working in business, industry and for the government, a social conscience, started to take place.
Nader's Raiders Hit The American Conscious
It was not enough for American auto manufacturers to make cars, they had to be safe cars, that didn't blow up when they were hit from behind. There became, almost a collective conscious among all Americans, who had previously been so trusting, believing what advertisers, said about their products, and wares, to taking a closer look at what the product claimed and what the product did, laws reflected those changes, with the Uniform Commercial Codes, and negligence for product liability, placing people, lives, and safety above profit, for the first time. Organizations, like the American Civil Liberty Union, were formed after the civil rights movements, to insure that there were actual rights and they were followed through with, having a national organization, that watched, fought, and still battle, for the rights of minorities, citizens, and watching the government, a suspicion, that came about, because of the Vietnam War and Watergate, leaving us in America war torn, wearing, and suspicious of our own government, possibly for the first time.
Right after, Zeke and I got married, and had our first baby, we purchased a bright yellow, Ford, Pinto Station Wagon, that was one of the first years, that model was manufactured. However, years, later, there was a Pinto station wagon, that, would blow up, if it was hit from the back end, if I recall. And, I think that was the first year, that a bunch of cars, had to be recalled, for safety reasons, and that, was one of the first times, that, people, triumphed over profits, and liability was, ordered to the product producers, for the lives that had been lost, and I am not sure, what happened after that, new cars exchanged, now with that, product, fixed and then safe. Just recently, with the new, key less cars, it seems, like, their is something, that, can be trigger, that, actually can shut the car off, or someone can tamper with the brakes, from cyber space, or from some electronic mechanism! We also, read lately, that, Germany, is being taken to task for their emissions systems, again, it is that law school, speed read, just getting the bottom line, but, information was fabricated, making it look, like, the Volkswagons are emitting less, carbon emissions, than they actually are.
So, thanks to crusader rabbits, early pioneers, in product safety, liability for faulty products, and putting not only automakers' feet to the fire, that led to safety inspections, product seals of safety, and other things protecting people, from corporate greed, and making them remedy the situation, and take responsibility for their products, leading into areas of safer, cleaner, air quality . . . so the 60's started, making demands, that we are not going to let industry do whatever they want, nor do we have to deal with misrepresentations, in the selling and honesty of manufactures, and we have 60's leaders, like Ralph Nader and other, people who championed the causes, fighting the fights, and making our safety, a primary issue with producers of the goods, you and I buy, everyday.
Most big corporations, have internal, methods of dealing internally with faulty products, with lawyers on staff as in house counsel, to make sure and handle cases, and products that might have slipped through production lines, causing injuries, and suffering from consumers! I had an associate, who purchased a Pogo stick for his daughter, and on the first half hour of jumping on the toy, the rubber cap on the bottom of the stick, cut through, leaving his daughter, jumping on metal, slipping, on the asphalt, sending her to the ground, cutting her chin, and ending up getting stitches and with a hospital bill of about $2,000. I told him about product liability, who it worked, who to contact, and he did, not only getting his hospital bills covered, but another $3,000 for pain and suffering, plus the time it took to take care of the problems! Thank, Nader's Raiders, and his consumer watch teams, for many of these safety features, that keep us safe, and make producers and sellers of products, liable, leading to states, with consumer protection laws also!
Right after, Zeke and I got married, and had our first baby, we purchased a bright yellow, Ford, Pinto Station Wagon, that was one of the first years, that model was manufactured. However, years, later, there was a Pinto station wagon, that, would blow up, if it was hit from the back end, if I recall. And, I think that was the first year, that a bunch of cars, had to be recalled, for safety reasons, and that, was one of the first times, that, people, triumphed over profits, and liability was, ordered to the product producers, for the lives that had been lost, and I am not sure, what happened after that, new cars exchanged, now with that, product, fixed and then safe. Just recently, with the new, key less cars, it seems, like, their is something, that, can be trigger, that, actually can shut the car off, or someone can tamper with the brakes, from cyber space, or from some electronic mechanism! We also, read lately, that, Germany, is being taken to task for their emissions systems, again, it is that law school, speed read, just getting the bottom line, but, information was fabricated, making it look, like, the Volkswagons are emitting less, carbon emissions, than they actually are.
So, thanks to crusader rabbits, early pioneers, in product safety, liability for faulty products, and putting not only automakers' feet to the fire, that led to safety inspections, product seals of safety, and other things protecting people, from corporate greed, and making them remedy the situation, and take responsibility for their products, leading into areas of safer, cleaner, air quality . . . so the 60's started, making demands, that we are not going to let industry do whatever they want, nor do we have to deal with misrepresentations, in the selling and honesty of manufactures, and we have 60's leaders, like Ralph Nader and other, people who championed the causes, fighting the fights, and making our safety, a primary issue with producers of the goods, you and I buy, everyday.
Most big corporations, have internal, methods of dealing internally with faulty products, with lawyers on staff as in house counsel, to make sure and handle cases, and products that might have slipped through production lines, causing injuries, and suffering from consumers! I had an associate, who purchased a Pogo stick for his daughter, and on the first half hour of jumping on the toy, the rubber cap on the bottom of the stick, cut through, leaving his daughter, jumping on metal, slipping, on the asphalt, sending her to the ground, cutting her chin, and ending up getting stitches and with a hospital bill of about $2,000. I told him about product liability, who it worked, who to contact, and he did, not only getting his hospital bills covered, but another $3,000 for pain and suffering, plus the time it took to take care of the problems! Thank, Nader's Raiders, and his consumer watch teams, for many of these safety features, that keep us safe, and make producers and sellers of products, liable, leading to states, with consumer protection laws also!
This Was a Period of Amazing, Intellectual, Social, and Artistic Growth, That May Never Be Rivaled Again
AND NOW YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THE LEGACY OF THE SIXTIES . . . PRETTY ROCKIN'!
Takin' It To The Bone
I just saw one of the coolest, ads, so meaningful to me, as a constitutional law attorney, in light of some of the things that I have been writing about here . . . the ad, starts out with a group of students, or soldiers, young men and women, with their arms, raised to the square, just like I did when, I took the oath, to preserve, protect and defend, the United States Constitution, as they repeated those very words, with shots, going back and forth to the great men and women, not only now, but through the generations, some with their hand in a salute, wearing their military caps, from wars passed, or with returning military, greeting their families, hugging children, good-bye or hello, or serving in some aspect of military service, being seen, as THOSE WHO DARED!
I am so grateful, I started to cry, sitting here writing this with tears, coming down my cheeks, not only for those who served, but those who also, served for the right reasons, those who dared put on a uniform, in service of this country, for all we stand for, proudly serving, taking on and defending, against both foreign and domestic enemies, who, would hurt, injury, or damage, not only the reputation, the mission, the goals, and the efforts, to make men, women and children, free, with rights, human dignity, safety, protecting, families, property, interests, and trusting in God! How, wonderful . . . what a joy for me, and something, that makes, my 20 year, domestic war, doing all I could and can, to preserve, protect and defend, the Constitution and the hope, for humanity, not only in America, but for all mankind, so well worth it, and realizing, what great hands we are in, living in the GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH, AMERICA!
