Young America is Mimicking (albeit less radically) the Actions of Young America circa Vietnam
Being a history major in college allowed me to track all of the times in which history repeated itself. You find that it doesn’t matter how educated the man or group was; they always blindly fell down the same path as their predecessors. Take Napoleon and Hitler’s marches into Russia as an example.[1][2]
America is as guilty of these instances as any other nation. Today, I find us increasingly in danger of falling into a similar cycle that we have already experienced. And it is my age group that is a part of this and also will be the group that feels its effects. We are following the blueprint of young Americans during the late ‘60s and ‘70s. The situations are eerily similar. And while the ‘60s and ‘70s are widely considered decades of great social justices, they are also seen as some of the most tumultuous times this nation has ever seen in regards to racial issues and government disapproval. We are becoming just as disillusioned with our current situation as young Americans were during ‘Nam.
War and Government that no one wants:
Back in the ‘60s, the youth was disillusioned with the Vietnam War. They protested the United States’ involvement and accused soldiers of the genocide of young, innocent Vietnamese people. Some protests turned deadly (Kent State) and caused the people to feel even more disconnect with their government. When things calmed down a little, they were struck with more reason to resent the government when President Nixon’s Watergate scandal came to light. It also did not help the cause when Ford pardoned Nixon of any wrongdoing.[3] They were living in an era of complete governmental and military turmoil.
Today, we find ourselves in a uniquely similar position. Much of the public is through with the Middle East. Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan have drained us of all our fighting spirit. We continually fight for something that we do not understand or believe in. Our method of protesting is through social media with memes and long posts where we rip the government and all of the “Hawks” inside of it a new one (even if we have no relevant information or sources). And anyone who tries to argue with us gets a full taste of our anger through multiple comments, videos, Jordan meme faces, etc. We’ve also had to deal with a rash of scandals including General Petraeus and the on-going Hillary Clinton spectacle. Because of this, we have either backed away from the government completely or latched ourselves on to people who we believe oppose D.C. (Sanders and Trump).
Social Issues Galore:
During the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court was extremely active. Every social issue of the time was up for grabs; Free Speech, Privacy Issues, Criminal Rights, etc. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) was a case that involved the rights of students to protest the war. They wore black arm bands to voice their disapproval.[4] Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) dealt with privacy. There were also a slew of cases that fought for the rights of the accused. These included Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Mapp v. Ohio (1960) and Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) which dealt with issues like self-incrimination, illegally obtained evidence and the right to counsel.[5] Finally, there was the issue in Roe v. Wade (1973) which gave women the right to get an abortion. Regardless of the issues, the era was filled with rapidly changing social issues which the youth responded to. They were in favor of such decisions such as Roe V. Wade but very much disapproved of the way in which issues like homosexuality (Stonewall Riots) were handled.[6] The point is that this era of young Americans was hit with an absurd amount of change in a short amount of time.[7]
The same can be said for today’s youth. We’ve had to endure crucial social issues that include health, gay marriage and immigration in a short span of time. For some, our bleeding support can clearly be seen in cases such as Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) which guaranteed same-sex marriage under the Constitution.[8] Somewhat related to that is the way in which Transgender people are beginning to fight for their rights and the legion of support they are receiving from the youth.[9] Another issue which has been lauded by the youth is the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which gives all Americans, regardless of income, the right to affordable health care.[10] Both of these issues received strong support from people my age because it is the belief of this generation that same-sex marriage and health care are both obvious rights of the people. We also show our disapproval with the outcomes of certain immigration issues. The majority of this generation believes that immigration and amnesty should be protected based on the belief that we are a country of immigrants. Also, our past history of how we became America (being welcomed by the Native Americans) should influence how we act as a nation towards new immigrants. That is why many were angered with the decision in Arizona v. United States (2012). While striking down 3 of the immigration laws passed by the Arizona legislature, the Supreme Court still upheld the law that allowed law enforcement to request legal status papers from anyone. People felt that this was a grossly discriminatory law that allowed police to unconstitutionally harass anyone they wanted to.[11] Regardless, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the social issues faced with both generations. The amount that has been thrown at us and our Vietnam era predecessors is absurd however. We have had to respond to a variety of different, impactful issues at a young age.
The “Racism is Over” Issue:
When the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, many people believed that racism was finally over and that things could finally get started. Martin Luther King Jr. himself called it nothing short of a, “second emancipation”.[12] However, they failed to realize that signing a paper didn’t turn racists into non-racists. All over the country, young black men and women were still being oppressed by radical white supremacists. This led to the Black Panther Party which looked to protect African-Americans as well as keep the fight for their rights alive. However, this also led some black people to become distant and believe that all white people were racists. While it was a milestone in race relations, the Civil Rights Act can be seen as a cause for the continued divide between the races.
When President Barack Obama was sworn into office in 2009, people finally believed that racism was over. The country (still a white majority) managed to elect a young, black senator from Illinois to the highest position in the land. Once again, it led people to feel that racism had been solved and we were all going to live united. However, swearing a black man into the Oval Office did not cure people of their racist tendencies like we believed it did. Still, young black men and women are oppressed daily. White people tend to turn to the fact that the President is black to defend their position. And they’re partially right; we have come a long, long way with our race relations but we’re not close to being done. (F.Y.I. arguing that, “Nothing has changed”, makes you look unintelligent, oblivious of obvious history and causes MLK to roll over in his grave, so stop it) Just because the President is black doesn’t mean all black people are safe from racial oppression; just he is because of his status. (And he’s a target occasionally too) With our super-sensitive society today, many people tend to over-react at some issues. The Black Lives Matter movement was formed to bring light to racial discrimination, particularly with law enforcement. This has caused a major divide between the races.
Our naïve belief that 2 events “solved racism” has caused whites and blacks to remain bitter and cautious towards each other.
Pentagon Papers v. Edward Snowden:
In 1967, Daniel Ellsberg leaked hundreds of secret Vietnam War documents to the New York Times and Washington Post. The documents were extremely controversial and made the military’s actions in Vietnam open for public view. The instance severely discredited the military and US government in the eyes of the public, especially the younger citizens. To them, this was yet another attempt by the government to withhold information from them and to operate behind closed doors despite their claims of transparency. The leak caused an uproar about how the issue should be handled and what, if anything, should happen to Ellsberg. The youth rallied around him because they believed what he did was patriotic.[13]
In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked thousands of documents to “The Guardian” regarding the espionage tactics and targets of the US, Canada, Australia and UK. The leak extremely weakened the US’ credibility and reputation among world leaders. It also allowed other nations, particularly China and Russia, to have a first-hand look into the US’ cyber methods. The leak caused Snowden to flee the US in fear of being convicted of treason. Even though he weakened the US’ defenses, Snowden is still widely viewed as a hero and patriot for lifting the curtain from the secret world of the US government.[14]
1976 Presidential Election v. 2016 Presidential Election:
In 1976, incumbent (although never elected) Gerald Ford was up against Georgia governor Jimmy Carter for President of the United States. Following Watergate, Vietnam and other damaging issues, the Ford Administration was under extreme scrutiny. His approval was so bad, in fact, that he faced stiff competition in the Republican Primaries; this is very unusual for incumbents (he narrowly beat out Ronald Reagan). The people were fed up with the lies and betrayal of the government and wanted to elect someone who was considered an outsider (sound familiar?). Jimmy Carter was an unknown governor from Georgia who rose quickly because of his “outsider” status. He ran on the promise that he would stray away from typical D.C. politics and be more for the people. According to CBS interviews in 1976, Carter secured more of the youth vote. This can be attributed to the idea that Carter wasn’t an establishment candidate and Ford was a part of the Nixon Administration during Watergate. There was no trust in Ford, especially after he pardoned Nixon for his actions involving Watergate. It rubbed people the wrong way and Carter narrowly defeated Ford in November for the presidency.[15]
Today, we find ourselves in the midst of a similar situation. President Obama’s time is nearly up and, across all parties, the message is clear; elect someone outside of D.C. This election season has seen plenty of “outsider” candidates ranging from Carly Fiorina to Ben Carson. However, the two that have stuck are Republican Fear Monger Donald Trump and Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders. Both couldn’t be farther apart on their issues but they both bring the same outsider presence that young voters (and voters in general) are looking for. Young people love Bernie Sanders because he is igniting a political revolution which intends to bring down corruption in Wall Street and D.C.[16] Young people love Donald Trump because he speaks his mind and tells it how it is. He doesn’t “softball” any of his comments and isn’t afraid to offend someone which people view as genuine.[17]
Summary:
We have repeated many of the same things that Americans, in general, did during the ‘60s and ‘70s. We have not been as radical as they were back then but the blueprint is pretty similar. It’s scary because, even with all of this knowledge of that period, we seem to be playing it by the book. It’s good for us to be passionate about certain things but we also need to be mindful of our history so we don’t keep repeating the ‘60s and ‘70s, which were some of the most tumultuous times this nation has ever seen.
And we need to slow down and take a real good look at the nation we are forming. Every day that someone our age, regardless of race, is on social media slamming a Beyoncé performance being anti-cop or blaming all white people for a cop killing a young black man, we divide ourselves even further. We need to start taking responsibility for our actions on Twitter and Facebook and find a way to unite our nation rather than divide it. So no more stupid posts about how the Confederate Flag, “has special heritage within the south”; that flag is racist. Make the sacrifice for the good of the nation you claim to love so much and get rid of it. And no more stupid videos of young black people in “white face” mimicking white frat guys. Yeah, they’re tools but by doing that, you’re showing you’re no better than white racists. And not white racists today; extremely white racists at the turn of the century who believed Eugenics was the future of the world. Think about it. It’s posts like these two that drive up 100k comments and shares of pure hate and division. We’re better than this.
[1] http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/defeat/attack-russia.htm
[2] http://www.history.com/news/napoleons-disastrous-invasion-of-russia-200-years-ago
[3] http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/ford.htm
[4] http://www.firstamendmentschools.org/freedoms/case.aspx?id=404
[5] http://www.civilrights.org/judiciary/supreme-court/key-cases.html
[6] http://www.civilrights.org/archives/2009/06/449-stonewall.html
[7] http://www.ushistory.org/us/57d.asp
[8] https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-556
[9] http://news.wgcu.org/post/internet-helps-transgender-youth-come-out
[10] http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-facts/
[11] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/arizona-immigration-law-ruling_n_1614067.html
[12] http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act
[13] http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/pentagon-papers
[14] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/14/edward-snowden-hero-government-scare-tactics
[15] http://www.gallup.com/poll/9460/election-polls-vote-groups-19761980.aspx
[16] http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/09/why-young-people-like-bernie-sanders/
[17] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/12/the-four-basic-reasons-that-explain-why-donald-trump-actually-is-so-popular/
Young Politics 2016 