"Child of the 60’s"

"Child of the 60’s"

I do not know if it was an advantage or disadvantage to grow up in the 60’s. Vision, hope, optimism and positive social change were the mood of the times. It was easy to believe that the Age of Aquarius was indeed upon us with its apex being a Vatican II Church and an enlightened America that would surely be the threshold of the coming Kingdom. Idealism seemed almost unchecked, open-ended and wonderful. All we had to do was get everyone educated and converted, and that was just a matter of time.

Now in 1992, that five hundredth anniversary of the European invasion of the Americas, things look different. It is hard to believe that the world could appear so changed in one lifetime. The values that we thought were roundly accepted are now roundly denied: racism is chic, war is a substitute for worship, materialism is the watertight myth, the poor are blamed for their condition, and religion, largely, is unimportant.

Were we wrong, or is this the price that one pays for false innocence? Is there such a thing as social progress? Must we take two steps back for each step forward? As you probably suspect, I now answer each of these with a humble yes. But I am very happy that I was formed in the lens-opening 60’s, especially when I see the later alternatives. These alternatives threaten to close that lens through cynicism, discouragement, anger and darkness.

from Radical Grace, “A Transitional Generation”