For some reason this Thanksgiving had the song “Abraham, Martin and John” in my head. Maybe it was another November 22nd “assassination anniversary” of President Kennedy. Maybe it was the Rittenhouse and Arbery trials. Definitely it was a renewed sense that America is suffering from an extreme loss of hope. For me, the killing of the Kennedy’s, Malcolm X and Dr. King killed the nations hope. Add to that John Lennon, who dared to “Imagine”.
Since it is the assassination-generation that has shaped our politics toward today’s dysfunction, its important to ask where it all came from. My generation was born in the best of times for America. “Big Iron” cars and Harley’s, the age Aquarius, rock and soul, space exploration, International dominance and economic prosperity. The only way for us to go was up.
History shows that change comes in hopeful and prosperous times. Oddly at odds with the common thought that change comes during the bad times. This generation certainly grew up with lots of social change. The civil rights movement, the women’s movement, hippies, the gay movement and a general rejection of the “corporate man”. Working people made their greatest financial advances. All people feeling like the time was right to air grievances, right the wrongs and move forward. Then the bullets flew.
Does a nation have a common emotional mind? What happens when the symbols of hope, youth, energy and progress are dramatically taken away? What happens to people who are cruelly shown, “you can’t have bright and shiny things”? Are we the answer to Langston Hughes question “what happens to a dream deferred”? “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?” Was our nation turned into a prune?
The hope and energy of the sixties and seventies went somewhere. Its AWOL in today’s America. Even in moments that show our best capacities, like the Mars lander, we can’t show anything near the pride and euphoria of John Glenn blasting into space. National pride, the kind that embraces all of us, is something we can’t seem to muster anymore. Worse yet, we find ways to turn our successes into negatives and divisions. A sure symptom of a mental state that lacks hope.
When you lose hope, you don’t trust others. You can’t join together. You don’t believe you can impact where you’re going. You are alone in the crowd. How do we extract ourselves from this? If it is a national malaise and deeply rooting in murders done in our formative years, what couch do we lay on, what psychiatrist can excise a nation’s demons?
I’m short on answers and the questions are daunting. Like all personal things, we have to recognize the problem and become determined to overcome them. In most dilemma’s, help from others and leadership play a key role. The darker thought is that my generation will never be able to regain that hope and optimism. That we will have to pass from the scene for our nation to overcome the harm those killings did. I am sure that this is not what Abraham, John, Martin, Malcom, Bobby or John Lennon would want for any of us.
Ihg 11-27-2021 - If you like these commentaries, join my blog for free at: https://ikegittlen.substack.com/ and share. Let’s see what we can build together.