Gender War, Tolerance and Goodwill

Any number of people want to portray 1960s as an anomaly, as a result specifically of "a bad crop" or a "narcissistic generation." In fact 1960s were not unique, and similar, though smaller-scale, situations took place during the Romantic Era and during early 20th century. I propose that 1960s was not only not an anomaly, but in fact an inevitability; and that any attempt to bring back something like 1950s will result in something like 1960s happening yet again.

One reason is that, in the case of the pre-Romantic Enlightenment Era, during Victorianism, and during 1950s, the people in charge of educating the youth consistently claimed that they were doing what they were doing in defense of liberty. And yet there were many liberties, dear especially to young people, that they disallowed - such freedoms as the freedom to feel, the freedom to love, the freedom to enjoy nature, and the freedom to have spiritual and consciousness-raising experiences. A person who claims to be speaking for liberty while disallowing important liberties will always be seen as a hypocrite; and we will see the exact same thing happening time and again for as long as these people continue claiming what they do while at the same time forbidding what they do.

Another reason - and this one may not apply for the Romantic generation, but it does apply for the children of Victorians and the children of World War II generation - is simple logic. If a society at the time is built around the family unit and the raising of children - as was the case with both the Victorian Era and 1950s - then what would be more logical than for the children to decide that everything is about them. It's what's stated in the propaganda. It's what's claimed by everyone - their parents, their teachers, the politicians, the priestry. A society is built around the raising of the children; so logically the children raised in that way decide that they are it.

Finally, these kinds of things are bound to happen by reason of evolution of knowledge. The mind, originally, has contempt for such things as feeling and nature until it has studied these things enough to see in them magnificent logic that is more intricate than anything that the mind knows how to create. This, logically, builds respect for such things as nature and feeling. Of course this respect, even reverence, for nature and feeling is the very essence of Romanticism; and romanticism of one kind or another will always follow rationalism of one kind or another, for this precise reason.

Any number of people have sought over the last three decades to create something like 1950s, and now - surprise surprise - we are seeing some features of 1960s coming back. The Occupy protests, the Slut Walk, Wikileaks, the Anonymous and any number of other manifestations are reminiscent of 1960s, and we are likely to see more of such things. The people who won't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and we see that exact scenario with the people who thought 1960s to be an anamoly or a result of a bad generation. Those claiming such things have not learned their lesson, and they are repeating it yet again.