Re: 60's radicals
Charles Shepard (SHEPARD@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu)
Sun, 28 Apr 1996 16:16:07 -0400
I would also want to register agreement with Paula's position...the essential
equation that the people of the "60's" (and others prior to them, beginning most
obviously with the original founders of our country) involves the ratio of
power in the hands of the individual vs. the power granted or taken by the
collective. Most of us in the 60's were not only concerned tht the balance of
power was weighing too much in favor of the collective over the individual and,
further, that the folks who were exercising that power were somehow deficient in
intellectual, spiritual, and moral terms. As political decision makers fell f-
urther and further under the influence of corporate leaders (i.e. little states
within the State), many of began to see that we had a responsibility to question
and challenge these particular people and this particular way of doing things.
A number of people mistakenly feel that we were challenging Authority per se;
the reality is that we were saying that we did not believe those with
"authority" were the Authority. On a smaller scale, it's much like questioning
your parents...they are not necessarily Right simply because they are your
parents, but rather, because they are your parents they have a responsibility
to try to be Right. In the same way, we were saying just because you were
elected that doesn't mean you are a true and good leader...it probably means
that you simply had more money and more connections...
Today, the same problems face us basically and a great many people continue to
help find resolutions. I, for one, believe it begins at home...that the family
group is a micro-version of the larger collective...the family is the best place
to daily deal with real issues of responsibility, cooperation, and of
leadership.
Charles
SHEPARD@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu