Saturday, October 01, 2005
THE AMERICAN COLLAPSE: THE SEVENTIES (1973-1980)
The sixties era slouched into the seventies with unclear boundries as do most eras. Did they begin with the Watergate? The end of Vietnam hostilities? Nixon resigning? The Arab Oil Embargo? I figure it was about 1973. It ended in late 1980 with the election of Reagan.
We begin the era in 1973. We went back to the Moon and even took a roadtrip there in our dune buggy. Then funding was cut as money got tight and the public lost interest. Nixon was into his second term after a landslide election. We were slowly getting out of Vietnam.
I would list five trends that defined the seventies: The social hangover from the sixties.
Post-Vietnam Syndrome. Loss of faith in government and country. Economic stagflation. And the Me Generation.
The Social Hangover. Sheer exaustion and a headache. Most of those older than the Boomers were sick of the whole thing. Many of the Boomers themselves were ready to get on with their lives. Sleeping around did not really liberate one's sexuality. LSD didn't make one a sage. Marx doesn't hold water in the real world. Communes gives the lazy an easy way to exploit those doing the work.
Post-Vietnam. Shame at all the destruction and lost lives for nothing. Shame getting your ass kicked by a third-world tiny country. Shame at spitting on the vets. Now the country wanted to simply ignore the whole thing. Pretend it never happened. And ignore the vets with their traumatized bodies and minds.
Loss of faith. A stupid war that never seemed to end despite the public wanting it to. A bungled burglary called Watergate. Secret tapes. The VP and then Nixon himself resigns in utter shame. He would have not only been impeached, but likely removed from office as well. If the boomers lost faith by 1968, many of those older had their doubts now. The kids born in the sixties learned that the government is corrupt and can't be counted on.
The Me Generation. Again we point an angry finger at the boomers. Seeing the We Generation was in many ways fruitless and that the old power structures were not interested in the potential for a much better world, they turned very local-to the individual. The pop psychology of the times was about ME. Selfish was in. Women demanded more rights. Marriages broke up as people wanted "freedom." Hedonism flourished. Casual sex was more active than free love ever was. More pot was smoked, perfect for detaching from the corrupt system. LSD was out, cocaine was in. The ultimate selfish drug. People also turned inward to yoga, meditation and Eastern religion. Interest in healthier lifestyles with diet and exercise was growing. Running became popular. This trend was hardly limited to the boomers either. Those a bit older were caught up in it too. Those younger were raised in its midst.
Stagflation. The economy tanked. Part business cycle after a long boom. Part a war hangover. And set-up by huge deficits per the triad of LBJ: Tax cuts, a long war and massive social entitlements. Nixon only made it worse with more handouts to get re-elected. Then he abandoned any kind of gold standard and eneded Bretton-Woods.
Now the effects were obvious. Many blamed OPEC, given the price of oil. But while it was in part to punish the US for its support of Isreal, much of it was to counter the devalued dollar. Inflation raged while jobs were lost. Spending power dwindled.
The Watergate incident and its aftermath led to the resignation of Nixon. Ford was now president, having taken the VP job when Agnew resigned after being caught up in corruption. So Ford inherited a mess. He was powerless to stop the mess. Nobody probably could have. But he was blamed.
Carter was elected in 1976. The nation had enough of the Republican mess. They thought the Democrats and their kind gentle leader could improve things. Despite being an intelligent and honest man, or perhaps becasue he was a decent and good man, he failed. Again, like Ford, perhaps he was not to blame.
Still, the economy dragged and inflation raged. Iran rovolted to Islamic Fundamentalism and took Americans at the embassy hostage. The USSR got bold and invaded Afganistan. There was a bond crisis and he was forced to raise interest rates to avoid fiscal collapse of the government. Most did not know this grave danger and hence the economy sunk further. The people were again ready for something different.
Well, not that different. Reagan again ran for President, finally winning the Republican primary. Tall, handsome and charming; he perfected his manner in a progression from radio sportscaster, actor, the SAG, commercials and TV, and then Governor of California. Clearly conservative, he campaigned on a platform of getting America back to work, on top of the world and behaving morally.
We begin the era in 1973. We went back to the Moon and even took a roadtrip there in our dune buggy. Then funding was cut as money got tight and the public lost interest. Nixon was into his second term after a landslide election. We were slowly getting out of Vietnam.
I would list five trends that defined the seventies: The social hangover from the sixties.
Post-Vietnam Syndrome. Loss of faith in government and country. Economic stagflation. And the Me Generation.
The Social Hangover. Sheer exaustion and a headache. Most of those older than the Boomers were sick of the whole thing. Many of the Boomers themselves were ready to get on with their lives. Sleeping around did not really liberate one's sexuality. LSD didn't make one a sage. Marx doesn't hold water in the real world. Communes gives the lazy an easy way to exploit those doing the work.
Post-Vietnam. Shame at all the destruction and lost lives for nothing. Shame getting your ass kicked by a third-world tiny country. Shame at spitting on the vets. Now the country wanted to simply ignore the whole thing. Pretend it never happened. And ignore the vets with their traumatized bodies and minds.
Loss of faith. A stupid war that never seemed to end despite the public wanting it to. A bungled burglary called Watergate. Secret tapes. The VP and then Nixon himself resigns in utter shame. He would have not only been impeached, but likely removed from office as well. If the boomers lost faith by 1968, many of those older had their doubts now. The kids born in the sixties learned that the government is corrupt and can't be counted on.
The Me Generation. Again we point an angry finger at the boomers. Seeing the We Generation was in many ways fruitless and that the old power structures were not interested in the potential for a much better world, they turned very local-to the individual. The pop psychology of the times was about ME. Selfish was in. Women demanded more rights. Marriages broke up as people wanted "freedom." Hedonism flourished. Casual sex was more active than free love ever was. More pot was smoked, perfect for detaching from the corrupt system. LSD was out, cocaine was in. The ultimate selfish drug. People also turned inward to yoga, meditation and Eastern religion. Interest in healthier lifestyles with diet and exercise was growing. Running became popular. This trend was hardly limited to the boomers either. Those a bit older were caught up in it too. Those younger were raised in its midst.
Stagflation. The economy tanked. Part business cycle after a long boom. Part a war hangover. And set-up by huge deficits per the triad of LBJ: Tax cuts, a long war and massive social entitlements. Nixon only made it worse with more handouts to get re-elected. Then he abandoned any kind of gold standard and eneded Bretton-Woods.
Now the effects were obvious. Many blamed OPEC, given the price of oil. But while it was in part to punish the US for its support of Isreal, much of it was to counter the devalued dollar. Inflation raged while jobs were lost. Spending power dwindled.
The Watergate incident and its aftermath led to the resignation of Nixon. Ford was now president, having taken the VP job when Agnew resigned after being caught up in corruption. So Ford inherited a mess. He was powerless to stop the mess. Nobody probably could have. But he was blamed.
Carter was elected in 1976. The nation had enough of the Republican mess. They thought the Democrats and their kind gentle leader could improve things. Despite being an intelligent and honest man, or perhaps becasue he was a decent and good man, he failed. Again, like Ford, perhaps he was not to blame.
Still, the economy dragged and inflation raged. Iran rovolted to Islamic Fundamentalism and took Americans at the embassy hostage. The USSR got bold and invaded Afganistan. There was a bond crisis and he was forced to raise interest rates to avoid fiscal collapse of the government. Most did not know this grave danger and hence the economy sunk further. The people were again ready for something different.
Well, not that different. Reagan again ran for President, finally winning the Republican primary. Tall, handsome and charming; he perfected his manner in a progression from radio sportscaster, actor, the SAG, commercials and TV, and then Governor of California. Clearly conservative, he campaigned on a platform of getting America back to work, on top of the world and behaving morally.
