Personally, I have really found the idea of political polarization in the 1960s to be something that today’s climate is nearing (although I would argue that the American Right has become much more radicalized than the left). It feels like my entire life I’ve been listening to my parents and those of their generation describe the present as times of unrest, of uncertainty, and of political divide; after hearing all those things said so many times, I’ve come to think of them as just something that people say all the time. However, after reading in Vinen and discussing in class how the gap between left and right slowly widened towards the extremes, I’ve come to question if, as has been discussed in class numerous times, we’re living today in a modern 68. While tensions are certainly not to that height yet, I think it’s fair to say we’re living in a time ripe with opportunity for change, and I think the growing political divide of the past years that I’ve heard so much about has likely been a necessary precursor. Without the early 1960s you never could’ve had the protests and the impact of 1968, and perhaps I should view the past 5-10 years of my life in a similar light and understand that there could be something special about this “political polarization” I’ve heard mentioned countless times.
By drawing this comparison, it also helps me to use my personal experience as a political moderate to better understand the thought processes of the people of the late 1960s. I personally grew up in a very conservative household, so it is no surprise that I would’ve considered myself a conservative (although not as conservative as my parents) as late as my high school years. However, as I’ve watched the Republican party move farther and farther right, I’ve felt alienated and have swung the other way, aligning much more with the American left than the right. Applying my experience in the reverse, I can understand how more moderate leftists in 1968 ended up swinging to the right as they sought alignment with a more moderate party that they felt represented them.
I really enjoyed your connection of political polarization from 1968 and now; it is a connection I hadn’t thought about. I relate with the idea you brought up about aligning with a certain political party or considering oneself ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal’ just because of your parents views and the way you were raised. Leftists moving right in 1968, is something we still see today, as undoubtedly, political parties are always changing, moving further right or left, making political affiliation a challenging task.
You brought up some very good points comparing ’68 and todays climates. I think it is important to take a look at the past decade to understand why tensions have risen to the level they have. Trayvon Martin, whose death is the first instance of police brutality I can vividly remember in my lifetime, was killed over 8 years ago. Just yesterday another black man, Jacob Blake, was shot by police as he entered his car with his three children in the car all of whom are under the age of 10. It’s easy to see why tensions have risen because the voice of so many Americans has continually been ignored just as we saw in the 60s.
I also had a similar experience in terms of growing up in a conservative home but shifting away from those ideas as I got older and put more effort into thinking about issues for myself. Something that struck me about this line of thought in the context of the idealogical shifts in 68 is the emphasis on memoir we’ve talked about a few times in class. Because so many of the people who were engaged in 68 used memoir as an outlet for expression, we have the opportunity to learn about their journeys and perhaps allow them to help us reflect on our own journeys.
You brought up a great point in explaining how you can relate to leftists identifying with right-wingers or at least people with more moderate temperaments because “the thing” doesn’t appear to have been a strict ideology but rather an attitude. Many radicals didn’t even know exactly what the end result they desired was but they knew change needed to take place and that they were going to go to extreme measures to effect that change. The polarization of ’68 seems to have been exacerbated by the labels put on movements like the Black Panthers and these overreactions can be a turn off for people on all different locations on the political spectrum. I think comparing the trajectory of ’68 with today (a few years down the road from now) will provide excellent insight into the mindset of radicals across generations and how things like social media affect the trajectory of these movements. Also it could potentially help us identify what exactly triggers these periods of intense polarization.