Generational dysfunction and the Class of 1970

A cultural indicator: "Mad"

I remember covering a visiting speaker in Morris, brought here by an important local banker. He came here to speak on getting rich. I interviewed the man and wrote an article that he later wrote me about. He praised my work. Among other things he wrote "you are a real pro." I'd like to remind you that I was capable of doing good work, of being a good scribe. The political makeup of our community broke down toward the end of the 1980s, and my standing along with my ability to function as a journalist became impaired.
But let's get back to the visiting speaker, brought here by Ed LaFave. Why am I reminded of this now? The visiting individual, in his interview with me, talked about the young generation from the period that included 1970. He told me he had a child who graduated from high school in that year. He talked about what material possessions can do to people. Without using the word "spoiled," he essentially made that point. As I recall, he said "my son had a bicycle before he realized he wanted one."
He suggested that such affluence was really a cause of blight for young people growing up. They were not enriched by being showered by such material blessings, he suggested. (I cannot remember the man's name.)
I'm reminded of a book I read many years later, called "The End of Victory Culture." That book pointed out how the young generation from around 1970 - we're essentially talking the boomers, that big unstoppable wave - seemed to have a mocking attitude toward all the material blessings. The proof of that? That's simple to cite. The author cited Mad Magazine. Mad supplied a broad parody of the world that surrounded us kids in that time - the popular TV shows etc. I could cite another magazine example for youth somewhat older: National Lampoon. While I found Mad to be essentially harmless and actually very amusing, National Lampoon had a troubling air for me. It was like the boomers were inspecting their naval.
LaFave's visiting speaker was quite blunt in describing his child's high school class of 1970. I think this is a direct quote: "Those were the most messed-up group of kids I've ever seen." If you are my age I'm certain this rings true for you. However, I think you're probably in denial about that thicket of immorality and dysfunction we were immersed in. It's a super dark memory. Jim Morrison of Morris, a Class of '70 member, would probably laugh at what I'm writing here but not out of actual disbelief. He'd laugh because our behavior was so silly. He'd try to rationalize it was essentially a harmless phase.
Without a doubt it was a phase. I'm not prepared to consider it so harmless. I remember a TV documentary about the Manson thing that reflected on how certain apparently wholesome young people could end up turning into such unsavory people. A commenter said: "There were certain things (those young people) weren't getting from their parents." The comment stuck in my mind and I tried distilling just what "things" those were. A chief theory I have, is that adolescents were reaching puberty at a younger age than their predecessors. They had serious needs because of that, coping needs, that were not being met by their parents. The parents just wanted their precious kids to be nice, oh and go to church Sundays, and proceed into a wholesome existence, all of which seems perfectly acceptable.

"The End of Victory Culture"

It's superficially acceptable but there was a serious undercurrent of restlessness in the kids. There were needs that were not being met. I grew up without getting any counseling whatsoever re. sex. And to the extent that sex ever got broached in any way, there was an overwhelming sense of taboo about it. Instantly there was pressure to "change the subject" and we could feel a sense of relief. Except that none of this was healthy for our psyche and could be quite damaging. We became rebellious almost for the sake of being rebellious. We turned away from the churches that our parents had brought us to. Years would go by before we were willing to take a fresh look at all the eccoutrements of our parents' lives, willing to finally fall in line with a feeling of real acceptance.
Back in the early 1980s I wrote about a Morris group called "Young Life." This was a remarkable thing to observe because it was rather nakedly an attempt to "rescue" kids and get them back into the traditional Christian orbit. It's remarkable because the adult leaders felt a new organization separate from the traditional Christian churches was needed. It was as if the kids were alienated from the traditional things, and they were.
Some very prominent adults, like heads of banks, pushed Young Life, so it was something to be taken seriously. I think their intent was to slowly prod our youth to get back to traditional institutions like the mainstream churches. "Get back to where you once belonged," as the Beatles would sing.
The '70s were a confusing and mysterious time, mysterious in the sense there was such a strong meme of questioning tradition. To what extent was that misguided? The youth were restless because of some genuinely troubling issues nationally that festered in the '60s and '70s. But young people were accorded more pleasure than any previous generation. We could have been thankful for a few things. But we vented bitterness in so many ways. For boys the "uniform" was clothing that made you look poverty-stricken, slouched shoulders and longish hair. If you tried looking clean-cut you might have been derided. Hey, you might be called a "narc!" Remember that putdown? The term is derived from "narcotics officer."
If you circulated socially with your peers, it wouldn't be long before a friend would pull out that little plastic sack of marijuana. How did they acquire this without fear of being arrested? It was everywhere. Our parents couldn't even understand why we were interested in this. They just kept on with their responsible lives, paying the bills etc. While we sank into debauchery. I realize it was essential to protest the Vietnam war. But why did we feel the need to drag ourselves down culturally?
My peers remember all this but they might not want to talk about it, not with their children or grandchildren. Our world of 1970 was different in so many ways. The Dow Jones closed the year at 838! Gas cost 36 cents a gallon. A copy of Sports Illustrated cost 15 cents. We sought Sports Illustrated because we could not yet go online to follow sports. Analog times! In 1970, girls had not yet begun playing school sports. Isn't that incredible? The Beatles broke up in 1970. I graduated from high school in 1973 which was still at the heart of all the phenomena I'm writing about here.
I have regrets. But there is nothing constructive, I guess, to dwell on that. Except: it is important to remember the past so we hopefully will not repeat past sins. President Nixon could have simply announced "we're leaving Vietnam and starting now, we'll try to get all our troops home as quickly and safely as possible." He'd be a hero. But it would have made too much sense. In 1970 we secretly (at first) invaded Cambodia. It was a nightmare. We can only hope for a better future.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com