For some reason, I have always been really interested in the 1960’s and 1970’s. There was something about the era that dragged me in. Maybe it was the massive amounts of passion that seemed to have come from the generation. As an avid reader of Hell Yeah Dude, you can see that I am an enthusiast of generational studies. Mainly dealing with creativity, opinions, and community.

If you examine the era a little bit more, and look at the previous years before 1968, mainly the 1950’s you can see that life was being lived very different. To be exact, life seemed more simple. As a young man, the best evidence of life being more simple, is our parents. Ask them, they will tell you what it was like in the 1950’s. Without technology, pressure, large amounts of innovations, life was more simple. Your job was straight forward, you knew what you had to do, and you did it. Not many curves in the road in that era.

With that said, the amount of passion you see in photographs and symbols in the 1960’s and 1970’s was extremely high. Because it was the first time that younger generations were being exposed to bigger changes, difficult times, and control.

The next amounts of information are cross references, you will see the original action (an earlier date) than the equivalent (closer to today’s date).

1959 - Vietnam war has started

Population unsure of outcome at this point, equal amounts of supporters as there are non-supporters.

2001 - Nine Eleven Attacks

Same description as 1959 - Vietnam war has started.

1965 through 1975 - Musical representations

Countless songs made about the Vietnam war and the actions that are taking place in Vietnam. Songs from Jefferson Airplane (Stop, Children, What’s that sound) - Jimmi Hendrix (All Along the Watchtower) - and multiple songs from The Beatles. These songs and artists played a large role in activating the younger generations thought process about their government, world, and actions taking place in both of them. These songs would be remembered and still be inspiring nearly 40 years later.

2005 - Loose Change, the film

A documentary about the nine eleven attacks and the possible conspiracy behind the attacks would breach the internet, bringing with it tons of controversy and an even larger amount of doubt. Even with the films main goal of raising the “you should question it” action, the film received more amounts of disbelief which lead to the film being pushed aside. Years later, a young actor by the name of Lindsay Lohan being arrested for a DUI would receive more media attention than the film and governmental plans for the war combined.

1968 through 1972 - The protests

Younger generations gather all across The United States, holding signs, and fighting for peace, human rights, and freedom. Early protests being held in San Francisco and Washington D.C.. The first time in history that such a large amount of the population was active against one cause, and making an action to fight for that cause. Being a physical presence behind the voice is something not to be taken advantage of. Millions of photographs taken, some of which became a staple of art history in The United States. It can be estimated that more moving and inspiring art being made during this time than the year 2000 through 2008.

2006 - A couple of blog posts?

To my knowledge, I can’t remember too much more than a couple of 60 minute interviews and online petitions fighting for some sort of larger cause like a War. At this point, the population begins to question the ethics of the current war, but it is still a smaller portion of the nation, as president Bush has been elected for the second time.

1975 - The end

After years of developing, fighting, being an active presence around music, community, and a voice - the Vietnam war has officially ended. It could be estimated that thousands of activists have spent so much time devoting themselves to their public voice that they no longer know what to do outside of that.

2007 - Uknown

By this time, a majority of the population has realized that their government has other goals than what they have been told. Plans for democratic elections being made by a large amount of the population, if it takes place in 2008 is unknown at this time.

1958 - The Peace Symbol

Created by Gerald Holtom, this symbol would be recognized decades later for the same meaning, peace. A simple symbol that represents the most complicated and confusing times in history. Now recognized as one of the most innovative, intelligent, and well-known logo’s and branding ever created. While not initially created for the anti-war movement, it rapidly became apart of that.

2008 - A couple of YouTube videos?

Nothing can compare to the massive amounts of art, development, and recognition that happened during the 1958 through 1975 dates.

With technology, has our voice been silenced? As you can see from the evidence, a physical presence makes a much larger reaction among others. In comparison to Loose Change and physical protests in the 1960’s and 1970’s, you can easily see the differences in recognition of opinions or actions. Today, younger generations are more active with being a voice for more random subjects. Younger generations are supposedly represented by “The Real World”, Nirvana, or MTV. No longer is there such a historical unity of opinions. While technology has given each person a voice, it has not given that person unity. Each person has a personal goal, but no longer does one person agree with one another as much as they might have previously. Have we become a generation that relies on the internet for our voice? It can be estimated that 90% of Web sites don’t have a physical body - an office, an event, or a unified action. If we say the internet is our voice, who is going to listen to you when millions of people are screaming?