As to the 1968 fetish's origins, well -- if you were a Baby Boomer activist, wouldn't you rather reminisce about ending the war in Vietnam rather than, say, the subsequent "boat people" exodus or the "killing fields" of Cambodia? Or hearken back to the fun of Woodstock rather than the cocaine-fueled 1970s? Bobby Kennedy instead of Jimmy Carter?
Sadly, for Baby Boomers, 1968 was their peak. It's been downhill for them since then. Obama's birth-date was certainly a selling point for me -- except that it seems he's bought heavily into Boomer attitudes himself.
As to the future, I kind of think we're living in the new center of gravity already. Consider how much of the political campaigning of the past 8 years has centered on the Florida vote tally of 2000, or the Iraq war authorization vote of 2003. I expect (alas) that the next several election cycles will be cast as referendums on those two issues, again and again and again.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-04-18 01:10 pm (UTC)As to the 1968 fetish's origins, well -- if you were a Baby Boomer activist, wouldn't you rather reminisce about ending the war in Vietnam rather than, say, the subsequent "boat people" exodus or the "killing fields" of Cambodia? Or hearken back to the fun of Woodstock rather than the cocaine-fueled 1970s? Bobby Kennedy instead of Jimmy Carter?
Sadly, for Baby Boomers, 1968 was their peak. It's been downhill for them since then. Obama's birth-date was certainly a selling point for me -- except that it seems he's bought heavily into Boomer attitudes himself.
As to the future, I kind of think we're living in the new center of gravity already. Consider how much of the political campaigning of the past 8 years has centered on the Florida vote tally of 2000, or the Iraq war authorization vote of 2003. I expect (alas) that the next several election cycles will be cast as referendums on those two issues, again and again and again.
JLC