History Lessons of 1968 and Other Years

 

The streets were on fire as National Guard troops moved into cities across the United States. The cries were full of anger and sadness. "We're sick of it!," protesters shouted.

There was talk of "radical¹ agitators²." Reports of violence and numbers of arrests were rising across the country. The president and his top aides made martial⁴ statements about law and order. On television, news and images of unrest seemed to play almost continuously.

The voice from the U.S. space agency's mission control center was cool and calm as a rocket flew into the sky and toward space.

It was the late 1960s. It is also right now.

For Americans over the age of 60, it is impossible to ignore the similarities between the past few days and unsettling times in the 1960s, especially 1968. It was a year marked by assassinations⁵ and social unrest.

And there are reasons to believe that 2020 may become more famous than 1968 as one of the most powerful social and political points in U.S history.

From a president standing⁷ trial to the coronavirus crisis, from massive unemployment to the death of George Floyd last week, all of the similarities are there.

Thurston Clarke wrote the book "The Last Campaign." It explores the 1968 presidential campaign of Senator Robert Kennedy and his assassination⁶ on June 5 of that year. He died the following day.

Clarke compares 2020 to an "anti-hit parade," with the greatest disasters of the past 100 years or more "all hitting us at once."

During the first five months of this year, history's ghosts from America's past have returned:

— From 1918, when the first wave of a deadly influenza⁸ pandemic came, then slowed, and then grew into a more powerful second wave.

— From 1930, when an economic crash showed its longer-term effects on American citizens in the form of a Great Depression.

— From 1974, and the break-down in government that came before Richard Nixon resigned as president. That returned in January and February of 2020 with the impeachment⁹ trial of President Donald Trump¹⁰.

— From 1992, and its images of Los Angeles burning, after a court dismissed charges against four police officers in the beating of Rodney King.

Maybe the most uneasy period to compare 2020 to is the one no one really wants to talk about: 1860, right before what would become the Civil War.

Slavery, America's greatest historical shame, was the turning point then. Today, it is police violence against black people, which historically is linked to slavery. Then, as now, there was deep economic inequity and a debate between individual rights and the common good. There are different, sometimes competing ideas of American life. There were different sets of facts and ever more unclear ideas of truth.

John Baick is a U.S. historian at Western New England University in Massachusetts. He said what is common among all these things in our history is "a lack of agreement of what reality is — a lack of agreement about facts, about causes."

Baick added, "When we can't agree on basic truth, we reach our greatest periods of divide."

But now, we live in a time of social media, which is overloaded¹¹ with images and messages meant to persuade and influence. And even what can appear on social media is a subject of national dispute, thanks in part to the president.

Problems are sometimes addressed, sometimes ignored, or never truly solved. That is what has the deepest effect on Frederick Gooding Junior, who teaches about race.

He sees commonalities between today and the years immediately after the Civil War. At that time, African Americans were faced with the realities of life after slavery.

He said newly freed African Americans "walk[ed] the streets in psychological terror."

Gooding is an associate professor of African American studies at Texas Christian¹² University.

He told The Associated Press there is nothing new about "the structure of our society and the way it behaves."

Things are starting to repeat, he said. There is anger. It grows. There is a new understanding. Then things are put in place and then the situation repeats itself.

But right here, right now, 1968 seems the most similar comparison of all.

Then, it was politics and economics and race — especially the killing¹³ of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The backdrop was the Vietnam War, which killed countless¹⁴ Americans.

Now, it is politics and economics and race — especially the death of George Floyd — with the backdrop of the pandemic, which has killed over 100,000 Americans.

There are clear differences, however. The power structures have changed and are somewhat more inclusive, but nowhere near where many hoped they would be.

One example is from the city of Chicago. In 1968, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley denounced people protesting at the Democratic Party's National Convention. He ordered National Guard troops to stop protesters from gathering¹⁵ near convention delegates and presidential candidates. Today, Chicago's mayor is Lori Lightfoot, an African American woman and the first openly gay person to hold the office.

Maybe the biggest difference is that, in 2020, protesters in one place can see and hear what is happening in other cities through social media.

Some questions, then:

Is this period a singular point of time in American life? And will people gathering and colliding aggressively lead to things we have yet to consider?

It is still hard to say.

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

radical agitator³ - n. a person who stirs up people in order to upset the status quo and further a political, social, or other cause:

martial - adj. describing the control of an area by military forces rather than by the police

assassination - n. the killing of someone, such as a famous or important person, usually for political reasons

ghost - n. the soul of a dead person thought of as living in an unseen world or as appearing to living people

pandemic - n. n occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

shame - n. a feeling of guilt¹⁶, regret, or sadness that you have because you know you have done something wrong

address - v. to deal with a matter, issue or problem

backdrop - n. the setting or conditions within which something happens

gay - adj. sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 agitators   

n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机

参考例句：

• The mud is too viscous, you must have all the agitators run. 泥浆太稠，你们得让所有的搅拌机都开着。 来自辞典例句
• Agitators urged the peasants to revolt/revolution. 煽动者怂恿农民叛变（革命）。 来自辞典例句

3 agitator   

n.鼓动者；搅拌器

参考例句：

• Hitler's just a self-educated street agitator.希特勒无非是个自学出身的街头煽动家罢了。
• Mona had watched him grow into an arrogant political agitator.莫娜瞧着他成长为一个高傲的政治鼓动家。

4 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

5 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

6 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

9 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

16 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。