WHO GETS FOOLED AGAIN? WHO? WHO?

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Baby boomers grew up with The Man.

It wasn’t daddy, but daddy knew The Man.

Sometimes daddy was on The Man reserve.

Who is The Man? It’s the police Man.

We saw him at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

The Man swung a hard stick.

We saw him earlier in the south with dogs and fire hoses dealing out law and order.

Boomers marched against The Man, protested against The Man.

Eventually The Man turned into the draft board who offered free tickets to Vietnam.

Country Joe sang about being the first one on your block to have your son come home in a box.

The Man knew his job. He might even call you son, but he’s not your daddy.

Then boomers turned into The Man.

Last night Todd Gitlin was on TV giving some analysis. He was an early organizer in the 60’s, and a ladies man.

One of his books landed on my college reading list, The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage, printed in 1987.

Side note: one of the benefits of starting college in 1973 and graduating with a BS in 1991 was watching attitudes change.

Gitlin got after it on his campus organizing trips. What star struck young beauty didn’t want to fall in love with a highly educated man of such strong conviction.

He wasn’t the only one booking flights for ‘campus discussion.’

Last night he looked like the white Harry Edwards, once the go to opinion interpreter on black lives that matter, but white people don’t understand.

Too often writers working the baby boomer field turn to the same people for new content.

Who won’t get fooled again?

If boomers, at least those who still pay attention, were honest about their younger days, they were fooled.

Don’t trust anyone over thirty, unless their names were Ken Kesey, Timothy Leary, or anyone born before 1946.

But they did. Eat that acid, smoke that ditch weed, paint your face and wear army surplus.

Are we free yet?

Go back to the land, seek your bliss, drive that econo-box.

Bump the clock to today and see that land poisoned, that bliss turn into nightmares, that econo-box as SUV.

Blame heroin addicts for dying, blame do-gooders for suggesting supervised shooting galleries, blame America for civil unrest.

Try and connect the dots of your life today with your past. If you’re pro-life, but had a few abortions, call it growing up. Or a guilty conscious.

If you were all about peace, love, and understanding, but need open carry or a concealed carry permit to feel safe in the modern cesspool, call it maturing.

Call it whatever you want, just don’t call it a sunny day.

You’ll get fooled again.

The next time you’re with your cohort, ask who protested the Vietnam War. Then ask who supports the troops. Finally, ask who served. Save that one for last.

You won’t see the same hands raised for each question.

Since we all need change to go along with our changed feelings, which happens when you get older, be sure you understand what changes are in store.

Head in the sand is not a change anyone wants.

Dirty air and dirty water isn’t change anyone votes for, but we get it just the same.

Squirrely politicians who live above the law are people who haven’t been caught yet. They’ll change then.

We follow rules, obey the law, but point the finger at those who don’t. Being different isn’t the same as being wrong, and breaking the law and ignoring the rules is wrong. Just ask your next road rage driver.

Baby boomers started out on a clean playing field. That’s what the boring 1950’s could be called. It wasn’t clean.

America was warring in Korea, France in Vietnam, England in Malaysia. The same WWII forces were deployed at hot spots around the world against the dreaded Commies.

How much has changed? Leave a comment.