The Peace of an Era

The time from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s defined an era. I grew from a young girl to a young teenager during that time. I watched the Vietnam War on the nightly news with David Brinkley or Walter Cronkite. I didn't understand why that was important news, but I can tell you I can't watch Vietnam War movies to this day.

There were the hippie and civil rights movements and riots in Chicago, Albuquerque, and many other places. Then, the Albuquerque riots came to my hometown 100 miles north. I remember coming out of the movie theater when I was around 11 years old and seeing college-aged men walking by with bricks in their hands. Knowing they would shatter some windows, I wondered why they wanted to destroy property. Yet, I felt powerless to stop them.

In my hometown, the cultural rule was you don't ask questions because of our father's jobs. What they did was top-secret-classified work. So, I didn't ask for explanations from my parents or other adults. Instead, I just absorbed the events going on around me. In many ways, that time defines who I am today. I'm liberal, support civil rights for all, think war is stupid and unnecessary, and have a hippie heart. I was one who, in my teens and 20s, took sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll pretty seriously. And I had a blast.

How does a child heading into her teen years make sense of this time? I visited a great-uncle and aunt when I was 14. He asked me if I was a teeny-bopper, and I honest-to-god didn't know what he meant. He teased me about it the entire time I was there. This event in my life has stuck with me for all these years. Weird what we remember, huh? I can say I identified with hippies. I knew who they were.

Then there was the music that helped define that time in many ways. The anti-war songs of Neil Young, The Hollies, The Byrds, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Pete Seegar, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and so many others rang true of a time of cultural conflict. I listened to the artists, not always understanding what they were saying, but I knew it was calling out how wrong the Vietnam War was and how conservative America tried to deal with all the changes. The music soothed this little girl. They had a message that rang true for so many people, sometimes violently and many times peacefully. Think John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."

We had Woodstock, the largest peaceful gathering of hippies EVER! It had the music and the people, and it just worked.

I love the music of that time because it still soothes me. I'm writing this on January 19, 2023, because some music died today. We lost David Crosby, an all-time great musician. I've been crying for hours. He helped define the era, and an important piece of that time passed with David today. I think I'm grieving more than just his passing. I'm mourning a time long passed. I'm sad for the little girl who didn't understand the social upheaval of the time. I'm heartbroken, again, for everyone who lost their lives in Vietnam, their dignity when they came home, the murdered students of Kent state, and those Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian individuals who lost lives due to social injustice.

It was a crazy time, the 1960s and 1970s. However, the most incredible music of all time, in my not-so-humble opinion, was created and lives on today.

Rest in peace, Mr. Crosby. Thank you for being you and giving us your awesome music, which will live on to infinity.