Question for DUers who were 60s-70s activists....

[democrank]

A recently unearthed poetry journal helped to reinforce my opinion that activism in the 60s and 70s had an element of resolve that isn`t apparent today. Without attaching too much idealism to that era, I think people were a lot more willing to take a collective stand back then. The issues were huge and so were the crowds.

Protesters back then had the fortitude to insist on being heard and they weren`t willing to bow to political or cultural pressures to simply go away. As I remember it, there was a solid sense of unity around common goals and individual needs were sacrificed for the common good. Nobody ordered that it be that way, it just was.

What sparked this memory search were recent posts here debating the DLC`s influence on our party. Back in the 60s, the DLC would have had no influence whatsoever. Nothing would have stopped activists and their goals: stopping the war, fighting for civil rights, women`s rights, labor rights and speaking up for the powerless.

During my most recent anti-war march, I was heartened to see so many older protesters (like Vietnam Veterans for Peace) that are as determined today as they were many decades ago. They weren`t worried about what their neighbors thought. They didn`t wish they were out shopping instead. They were there to take a stand and proud to do so. I`m hoping that more and more citizens will eventually follow this example and send a unified message to Washington.