As per the sixties, it seems to that what changed were social mores, but not how we actually live our lives. The nuclear family is still the main social pod and what most people seem to aspire to whether they can legally or not. Without sounding biased against “the family” it does take a lot of resources to keep one’d family going and that does not seem to provide a lot of extra time to see that the “family” is part of a larger family of man. This may sound facile, but there does not seem to be as much focus on other ways to live one’s life. My married and “with child” friends all say that I can do all of the cultural stuff I do and support what I do is because I don’t have a family. And to see their beleaguered selves, I must agree. It takes a certain amount of disposable cash to be a “culturally aware” family I think. In my old neighborhood, everyone worked and simply collapsed when they came home to their family. Both my parents worked and sometimes they had to work night shifts. It doesn’t leave much time and inclination.

A little spark for me, though, was that both my parents could recite poetry by heart and would, on occasion. My dad would listen to the opera on the radio. I went to ethnic school and learned the whole idea of what “culture” actually was because we were “different”. I learned that there were dances native to our ethnic backgrounds. That there were, in fact, different ethnicities. The thing that saved me in the neighborhood was the local Boy’s Club where I learned even more.

There really was nothing else to go to or do because our parents were all poor and living on the edge and there was no concept of extracurricular activities to be taken to. Our school was no-frills as well. We loved it when a cheap carnival would come to the neighborhood, but that was hardly culture, more like carny kulcher. (which I now totally appreciate)

Anyway, my own interest in pop culture stems from these tiny sparks, but a lot of kids I grew up with still have no clue and just go on and follow the same patterns of working and raising children on limited means. Not that much has changed.

I think education and some kind of activist cultural centres would be terrific in helping to get more families involved in helping their kids know that there is a much vaster realm to exist in than just in their own back of the yards. And maybe some appreciation of those of us with no families who are more than willing to help out with getting the message across.

I know I sound all pie-in-the-sky with no actual plan, but I think it’s also good to try and get some semi-utopian blither out into the ether to counteract all of the dystopian blither that is clogging up the universe at the moment. Can’t wait to hear what your cultural plans are, Frank. Thanks for provoking some cool talk.———teresa

I appreciate you forthrightness and your honesty, and I don’t doubt for a second, like I expressed to Robin, that you guys and many like you, of many different generations, are fighting the good fight and still do. Believe me, I now wish I hadn’t put those lines in the post because it really has only served to take the focus off the issues at hand, and that is, how can people like us, regardless of age or sex or race, take back the cultural reins in this country? I’d love to keep it completely a-political, but there’s no way of doing that because politics is part and parcel of what is wrong….when you have administrations making it easier for corporations to run everything into the ground, and everything is then based on the fastest way to make the cheapest buck, quality suffers on all levels. That’s what I want to talk about. How can we change things?

And I guess I should let everyone here know right off that, even if my tone comes across on the page as shrill or angry, I PROMISE YOU I’M NOT. At you anyway. At the situation, yes, but not with you guys. We are all allies in this.

I didn’t say we ended the war – I said we turned public opinion against it. And it was about 1972 that a lot of us turned to making money since we obviously weren’t going to take over the country.
(but, then again, there were lots of quasi-legal drugs so the old saying, “If you can remember the ’60′s, you weren’t there” kicks in.)

When I went to high school, no bluejeans, no long hair, girls could not wear pants – skirts or dresses only. Highly reminiscent of the uniform codes being instituted today.

At my son’s high school, anything goes – within reason. Goths, nerds, leather, bluejeans, tattoos, piercings, – many, not all, teachers challenge the kids to think, to reason, to question,

I’m not saying we solved all the great problems of the past 40 years, but, gee, we have blacks, asians, hispanic, gay, lesbian, whatever – and everyone gets along for the most part. None of this was happening 40 years ago.

yes, the rich/poor division continues and is getting worse – fed by those who use fear to stuff the ballot box.

Out here in the hinterlands, where a prochoice bumper sticker will get your tires slashed, we’re still fighting the good fight.

I never said that there weren’t things the Boomers accomplished. Just that all the great promise of a great society, a society more just and less divided by class–it doesn’t exist. The class and wealth divisions are terrible now. And I’m not saying that all of that is the Boomers’ fault, but that for you guys being the largest generation in American history–well, why are we in the same predicament forty years later if you guys did such a bang-up job of changing things? Because make no mistake, not much has changed around here (WHAT high school are you referring to? The norm is not great schooling). Same shit, different generation.

Well, okay then. We did manage to turn the nation against the war. (March on Washington, Oct 15, 1969, March on Washington, Nov.15, 1969 – I can still smell the tear gas). Voting Age Amendment.
Roe vs. Wade. The PILL. (if the Pill were trying to get approved today, it would not happen – note Plan B).
If they hadn’t started shooting at us, we would have accomplished more faster.

Don’t think we didn’t forment change. Some was good, some wasn’t so good. Porn, Paris Hilton, etc., not withstanding, we also have taken over the schools – wander into the local high school – it’s amazing.

Did everything turn out right? Not by a long shot, but things are better. Robin did a great job pointing to specifics.

The hope is that the next generation – yours – will build on those foundations and not let the crazies send us back to the ’50′s.

I, of course, agree with you. I, personally, feel that it’s time the independent arts community banded together. If we organize it’s a hell of a lot easier to make our voices heard. We all have to support one another if we want to make it through the bullshit.

Absolutely, Frank. The trick, of course, is how to let everyone know that the kick-ass writing/music/movies exist.

As Frank points out, the internet is a great tool for getting the word out.

But there are footsoldiers in the analog world, too, that need our support. Whenever anyone finds a CD store that promotes local music by putting it in the listening station, the customers should THANK the store so they keep it up. Tell them how it sets the store apart from others. (Most CD stores now only want to work with distributors.) And, of course, if you dig the music, save your pennies and pick it up! The same goes for radio stations that play self-pressed music, even if just once a week for a “local music” program (those stations are a dying breed, for sure, especially around NYC). Call the station, and tell them how cool it is that they’re spinning tasty stuff that the conglomerates won’t touch. Hell, call in a request.

The same goes for bookstores that carry POD books (THANK YOU, St. Mark’s Bookshop!), and movie theaters that run movies whose makers cannot afford nationwide commercials. They’re all our allies.