There are many reasons 1968 could be viewed as a turning
point in history, as this was a very turbulent year. I can tell you that as a teenager
in the 60's, the future was a bit frightening, and the present even more
so.
Many events contributed to the overall feeling of fear
and anxiety in 1968, and sometimes it felt as though our country had somehow lost its
way, been set adrift.
USA was in the middle of an
unpopular war in Vietnam, and this was the year of the Tet Offensive, which demoralized
the military. The Massacre of MyLai occured this year as well, although it did not
become public until almost a year later. President Johnson sent more and more troops to
Southeast Asia to a war where no end was in
sight.
Violence at home was prevalent, as university
protestors fought riot police, and the assasinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and
Robert F. Kennedy shocked us. The dreams of Camelot faded even further when Jackie
Kennedy married a Greek billionaire in 1968, and Congress repealed the Gold
Standard.
Yet, 1968 represented a year of huge progress as
well: Yale began admitting women to its university, the 747 was rolled out, Apollo 8
carried the first humans ever to see the dark side of the moon, and President Johnson
signed the Civil Rights Act. On a lighter side, there was the Summer of Love in San
Francisco, Rowan & Martin and 60 Minutes debuted, and Mister Rogers first
invited us to be his neighbor.
It could be said that 1968
was a year of tremendous change for Americans on all levels: political, social unrest,
freedom, international dominance, and loss of dreams. Yet we as Americans survived and,
hopefully, learned something about ourselves.
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