It’s been over 60 years since the Baby Boomer generation established its own identity and the loss of that
identity is beyond recovery now. Not only has it become history, it’s on the verge of being also erased completely
while being replaced by levels of hatred and deep distrust that are abominable. What happened?
Back in the 1960s the Baby Boomers were society’s rebels. They were against the old-fashioned rules and
regulations society was imposing on them, including how to think. What to wear became a point of
contention, along with the draft, education, and job opportunities. By 1967 the summer of love was taking
shape in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco. Scott McKenzie wrote the famous song about the city
and the flowers in May of 1967. “Make love not war” became the slogan not only of San Francisco but of the
Movement as well. In July Chet Powers penned a hit for the Youngbloods: “C’mon people, now. Smile on your
brother. Everybody get together, Try to love one another right now. Right now.” In 1968 a group was
established that, while on the conservative side, had an impact. Up With People still emphasizes positivity
while encouraging young adults to become leaders and positive agents of change for a more hopeful, trusting,
and peaceful world.
In 1964 President Johnson announced he would not run for re-election as the Vietnam War appeared
unwinnable. Vice president Richard Nixon was elected president in 1969 and promised to bring the war to a
quick end. Although there were soldiers who were coming home, Nixon decided to invade Cambodia in an
effort to end the war in our favor. He said he didn’t want to be the first U.S. president to lose a war.
Thus the anti-war movement grew. As the draft was still in effect, many young men were burning their draft
cards in protest. Demonstrations against the war were occurring everywhere. On May 4, 1970, at Kent State
University in Ohio, the National Guard was called in, ostensibly to help maintain order. Things got out of hand
quickly, and the National Guard shot and killed 13 students. Then, on March 16, 1968, a war crime was
committed in Vietnam, specifically in the village of My Lai. U.S. soldiers killed close to 500 civilians during a
“search and destroy” mission looking for the Viet Cong. Lt. William Calley Jr. was in charge and subsequently
found guilty, spending the rest of his life in prison.
Our beloved national icon, the Statue of Liberty, has been holding out the “Welcome To America” sign since
1876 when France gave her to the U.S. as a gift to celebrate our centennial. She holds a torch up high to
symbolically light the way for everyone: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to
breathe free.” Note there is no mention of race, creed, color, or geography.
Finally, the son of immigrants who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York became an icon in the music
industry in the 1970s until he retired in 2018. He’s quite famous in Boston as Red Sox fans have adapted his
hit Sweet Caroline for their beloved baseball team. In 1980 he released his now-famous song America,
a.k.a. The Immigrant Song:
“Far. We’ve been travelin’ far.
Without a home. But not without a star.
Free. Only want to be free.
We huddled close. Hang on to a dream.”
Our country is made up almost entirely of immigrants. The only “Americans” who aren’t immigrants or
descended from immigrants are the people now referred to, quite ironically, as Native Americans: the Sioux,
the Cherokee, the Navajo and the Chocktaw (to name a few); there are even two states named after a Native American tribe –
North and South Dakota. America was once referred to as a melting pot in which immigrants all melt and
become, simply, Americans; as the Pledge of Allegiance states: “One nation, under God, with liberty and
justice for all.” All. Not some. Not a privileged few from a specific race with a specific appearance. ALL. As
the motto on the Great Seal of the United States says: “e pluribus unum” which is Latin for “Out of many,
one.” ONE. No specifics added. ONE. Remember that the next time someone tries to tell you to keep out
certain immigrants and only admit certain others (from Norway, for example).
Finally, we don’t need to “Make America Great Again.” America is already great because of our wondrous and
adaptable Constitution which, among other things, lays out our three separate but equal branches of
government as well as our right and our freedoms as citizens of this country. And, what a citizen is. No need,
then, to “make” America great; she already is. Keep America Great! Participate. And – most important –
VOTE!