Reflections on 1968

The summer of love was buried Oct. 6.1967, the funeral “Death of a Hippie” conducted by those left in the Haight, signaled the end of the grand experiment. The next year 1968 would demolish any remnants left and encase them in cement.

Beginning on Jan.5^th Dubcek is elected as leader in Czechoslovakia, John Cash records “Live at Folsom Prison”, Jan 23^rd the USS Pueblo is seized by North Korea, the end of January is marked by the Tet offensive.

Feb1 the Pulitzer prize winning photograph of the Viet Cong officer being executed makes its way around the world, Feb.3 three college students are dead at the end of a civil rights action at an all white bowling alley,Feb24^th the Tet offensive is halted.

March 8^th the first protests begin in Prague, March 12 in New Hampshire Johnson edges out McCarthy for the Democratic primary~ foreshadowing the deep division in both party and the country, March 16^th My Lai occurs and Robert F. Kennedy enters the race for president, March 27^th Yuri Gagarin is killed in a training flight, March 31^st Johnson announces he will not seek re-election.

Carl Brasher, the first black Navy diver wins his long fight (1966) to become the first amputee certified to make mission dives. April 4^th Martin Luther King is murdered, April 11^th Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, April 23-30 students take over and effectively shut down Colombia University in NYC in war protest.

May of ‘68 is beginning in France leading many to believe revolution is on it’s way, May 17 th the Catonsville nine break into a Selective Service office ,seize records and burn them with napalm, May 22 the USS nuclear powered Scorpion goes down with 99 aboard.

June 3 rd Andy Warhol is murdered, June 5^th Robert F. Kennedy is murdered, June 8^th Ray is arrested for the assignation of Martin Luther King.

There are six more months to go in this year, with both cultural highs ,the Beatles White album is released and lows, the Ho Chi Minh Trail operation starts ,by the end of the operation, 3 million tons of bombs are dropped on Laos, slowing but not seriously disrupting trail operations.

~ August 20^th will see the brutal end of protest in Prague ,and two days later the Democratic Chicago riots will start and last 7 days. Governments around the world will see their young die in plazas near and deltas far away. The year ends with the Apollo Space Mission orbiting the Moon and we see the first image of the Earth as a whole. The astronauts read the first chapter of Genesis. I was 13 years old.

It was quite the year in retrospect and I am tired from just reading and remembering about it. I got to thinking about the historical figures from the time~ started by the marking of Martin Luther Kings passing~ and that led one thing to the next like a giant hopscotch game. Having lived through that year, it does make me smile at today’s “doom and gloom” crowd. Thinking back on those great men ~both known and unknown ~ who died that year, one thing is clear~ they were men, with greatness, baseness, the ability to make good choices and bad ones. I think that is something to keep in mind as we enter the voting booth this year. We are electing mere men to offices, to offices that must work as parts of a whole. We made it through ‘68; this should be a cakewalk

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Peace as always and in all ways~sage