It’s 1968 All Over Again

In 1968 I was still in college. I worked part-time in a restaurant for $1.25/hr with no benefits. I thought it was a good job. Gas was under $0.30/gal. A year later I was commissioned and got a raise to about $500/mo. I worked about 10/hrs per day. We saw the anti-Vietnam war protests on TV, but they had been going of for many years so we largely ignored them. They hadn't reached our home town, Tulsa, OK, and didn't reach into the rather remote Del Rio, TX, where I was in pilot training. We believed them to be a big city phenomena. Political correctness was unheard of. Public schools were segregated. We watched the Border Patrol piper cub take off from the airport at Del Rio every day to scout the Rio Grande for illegal aliens and thought little about it. There were three TV channels and we believed the news we saw was presented honestly and impartially.

In contrast, almost 50 years later, I'm a Seasoned Citizen living on Social Security and my Air Force Retirement. It's a pretty good deal overall and I'm living at least as well as I did as a 2d Lt. I work 0 hrs/day. Gas is about $2.50/gal, but has been as high as $4.00. I still ignore the various political protests which still appear on TV and seem to be limited to the big cities. We have nearly 100 TV channels to choose from. I no longer believe anything I see on TV news--it's either liberal lies or carefully crafted entertainment. I pray the Border Patrol officers will be wisely led and well equipped to do their job. I look at every person of apparent Hispanic descent as a possible dangerous illegal alien gang member although I know that's an inaccurate stereotype--it's what political sensationalism has done to us. I resent political correctness, say Merry Christmas, fly the US Flag on holidays and 9/11, and refuse to accept the idea that my skin color granted me some kind of special privilege; I worked for what I have. The Air Force trained me to accept people of other races as equals. Later equal treatment for all peoples was added. My life experience showed me if I treat all people with respect and courtesy, then life is easier and a lot more useful work is accomplished.

I sincerely believe we are in a period of change in our nation. The change is focused for now on the Federal Government. The transition from a liberal-socialist oriented government to a democratic-populist government is underway. The people have grown weary of high taxes and low services from their governments at all levels. They are ready for change to a government that actually provides services to its citizens effectively at a reasonable price. We have an opportunity to move from Government trying to provide the solution to every problem at high cost and low effectiveness, to a period of lower taxes, shrinking Government involvement in our daily lives, and increased personal acceptance for making our own success. I agree with Rush Limbaugh, if the Congress would go along with the Trump agenda for just 3 months, amazing transformation would happen in America.

Good article. Thanks for posting it.

Except there was tyranny in the Warsaw Bloc. Look at the Prague Spring.