Back to the 60s

Many of us remember the 1960s but when we do we put our own lens on the era. For some, the 1960s was the era of peace and love filled with tremendous unrest and upheaval of the status quo. The civil rights movement new-wave feminism to a burgeoning counterculture movement gave rise to a conservative movement, Others upset by all of the unrest started quietly in the 60s to move toward a more conservative world view. This movement gained strength during the rise of Barry Goldwater and the eventual election of Richard Nixon, cumulating with the election of Regan in the US and Thatcher in England.

As is befitting for such a significant period, the speeches, songs, and rallying cries of the time proved to be particularly powerful and distressing. The 60s were a transformative era with a multitude of voices reflecting the diverse perspectives of the time. Here are fifteen quotes that capture the essence of the progressive movement, the conservative movement, and the unrest of the period:

Progressive Movement:

1. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King Jr., 1963
2. "Make love, not war." - Unknown origin, popularized during anti-Vietnam War protests
3. "The personal is political." - Carol Hanisch, feminist slogan
4. "Question authority." - Popular counterculture slogan
5. "Free your mind, and the rest will follow." - En Vogue, "Free Your Mind" lyrics, 1992 (reflecting ongoing sentiments)

Conservative Movement:

1. Extremism in defence of liberty is no vice...moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." - Barry Goldwater, 1964
2. "We believe that the Constitution of the United States is the greatest single document ever penned by the hand of man." - Barry Goldwater, 1964
3. "I am not a consensus candidate of the left or of the right. I am a man of the moderate middle." - Richard Nixon, 1968
4. "We shall overcome when we can say to every man or woman who is a Negro, in a spirit of brotherhood, 'You are free.'" - Richard Nixon, 1968
5. "Our great modern Republic. May those who seek the blessings of its institutions and the protection of its flag remember the obligations they impose." - Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965

Unrest of the Period:

1. "Hell no, we won't go!" - Vietnam War protest chant
2. "Come mothers and fathers throughout the land  And don't criticize what you can't understand, Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command." - Bob Dylan, lyrics from the song "The Times They Are A-Changin'," 1964
3. "Power to the people." - Black Panther Party slogan
4. “We are the Unwilling, Doing the Impossible, For the Ungrateful.” James L Kinsey, Unwilling Warriors: Surviving the Vietnam War
5. "The whole world is watching!" - Chant during the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago

These quotes reflect the dynamic and often conflicting ideologies that shaped the 1960s and continued to influence subsequent decades. Many of these quotes still ring true today as our children and grandchildren continue to face some of the same struggles, we went through during the 60s. For many of us who were and still are progressive, it is hard to stay true to our ideals. Minority groups are still fighting for equal rights, war still ravages much of the world, and the arts continue to thrash against the sterility of corporate culture, and I could go on, but I won’t. In summary, these quotes act as navigational guides to remind us how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go.