Truman State University - Echo Yearbook (Kirksville, MO)

Page 13 text:

THE EXPLOSIVE YEARS Four presidents served in the 1960 ' s. Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, And Richard Nixon ail had a Hand in shaping the decade, And were, at times, objects Of both deserved and Undeserved criticism. The Gallup Poll became the New prophet of the age in its Search for the elusive Silent Majority. In the sixties we learned That we could no longer Smoke our cigarettes, drink Our diet soda, breathe our Air, swim in our water. Or watch color television. Parents ' worries were Complicated by sexier movies And more violence on Television. Youth became a powerful Force in the sixties. Young People dictated the trends In music, fashion, and Education. Music progressed From the simple melodic Style of the early Beatles, And became a powerful vessel Of social comment.

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NINETEEN SIXTIES: The decade of the nineteen Sixties is now history, and Subject to the scrutiny of Future critics. How, then, Can we describe this period. The ten years which saw most Of us grow from childhood To adulthood? In many ways it was a violent Time. John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, all fell victim to assassins ' Bullets, while eight student Nurses in Chicago and fourteen Bystanders in Austin died At the hands of madmen. Policemen ' s clubs grew bigger, And over-crowded prisons Seemed to grow smaller. The Berlin Wall proved that Democracy and communism could Not exist side-by-side. The Negro became the black, and Made it clear that he Could no longer exist as a Second-class citizen. Lester Maddox proved that anyone Could be in government, While the hemline rose, and The value of the dollar Fell.

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' The Torch Has Been Passed Politics also felt the impact Of the young, who, as never before, Tried to gain a voice in Government. ' The Generation Gap became a popular phrase, Depicting the unwillingness Of the young to accept the Totality of their parents ' Society. In 1965 the unpopular War came to America. As our Military involvement Increased, so did the Dissension on campus. Never Before had the morals of Our Country been more Severely questioned. The Draft became an object of Rebellion and a symbol Of the war. Many refused To serve; many who served Died. Many great men died in this Decade, among whom were. Dag Hammorskjeld, Dwight Eisenhower, Adlai Stevenson, Albert Schweitzer, Robert Frost, Winston Churchill, and Ernest Hemmingway.