1960's Protest Music

Looking back, I can see that we were raised in exciting times.

But living through it, we sometimes failed to see the whole picture.

I remember feeling great confusion in the face of the relentless change that often happened because of violent acts.

My parents became active in what was called "The Swim Suit Case," an attempt to integrate public swimming pools.

They followed the National discourse on Civil Rights, while making changes on a local level.

And in the process, were labeled as Communist sympathizers.

Not sure how that adds up, but these are the facts, Ma'am.

Then the idiocy of the Vietnam War burst upon the National Scene.

The so-called Generation Gap was real. I often wondered how President Johnson could do so much good (signed the Civil Rights and Medicare Bills), yet continued to escalate the war.

And Nixon was no friend of my generation.

Just the thought of him to this day elicits a negative tingle up and down my spine.

Hmmm--may need some healing work.

The moment President Kennedy was assassinated, my family and all of our friends said it was a conspiracy.

The moment Bobby, Martin, Malcolm and even the students at Kent State were shot down, we all immediately proclaimed a conspiracy.

The American Government, her foreign and domestic policy, all were open to skepticism.

James A. Michener wrote an amazing book about the conspiracy surrounding the Kent State shootings, and having read the book, I was duly impressed by his ability to tie together the missing pieces of that puzzle.

So conspiracy theorists abound.

We came to this honestly.