1960s
Public Education, America and Religion
TweetShareShareAmerica’s schools are a mess. Teacher morale is low. Disrespect, truancy and discipline problems are rampant. Today’s kids are more profane, angry, hurting, confused, violent…and ignorant (especially of their history). But a failing education system was a problem our Founding Fathers knew was possible. In a rather inconvenient quote about American education. Dr. Benjamin Rush penned:…
Read MoreThe Day Television Lost Control: “The Heidi Game”
TweetShareShareIt was the football game that changed the rules of broadcasting. It was the game that showed how the democratic, decentralized people’s voice could overrule the authoritative, centralized control of network brass. It was the game where a little girl in the Swiss Alps and superstar athletes toppled how we would watch live sports forever.…
Read More“Back to God”: The Spiritual Message and Power of Dwight D. Eisenhower
TweetShareShare In 1940 church attendance in America hovered at 49%. Not bad but not great either. Meanwhile our nation was gripped in a battle against communist aggression–both at home and abroad. The Soviets had fired the first shot in the “space race” and America was behind the eight-ball. On February 7, 1954, President Dwight D.…
Read MoreAmerica: The New Rome?
TweetShareShareIt’s been said that Rome wasn’t built in a day…and that’s true. But it also didn’t fall in a day. And the reasons it collapsed were impacted by certain political decisions, unavoidable events and socio-cultural shifts. In general, there were five factors that eroded Rome’s foundation over three centuries: 1. UNEXPECTED PLAGUES. Between 165 and…
Read MoreThe Tale of Two Kings: How Two Men Began and Ended the Modern Civil Rights Movement
TweetShareShareThe modern civil rights movement began and ended with edicts by two “Kings.” Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 launched it, while Rodney King’s “Can We All Get Along?” television message on May 1, 1992 ended it. It was three decades of “movement” that abolished segregated schools, housing,…
Read MoreBuckner and Bartman: How 1986 and 2006 Framed a Generation Named “X”
TweetShareShareGen X. Goonies. Nerds. Bad News Bears. Born in the 1960s and 1970s, these kids were also known as “slackers” and the Dumb Generation. They wore their baseball caps backward, listened to heavy metal, grunge and rap. They dropped out of school and church, played video games, got tattoos and earrings, and generally disgusted our…
Read MoreSix Months That Changed The World
TweetShareShare You could call it the Great Cultural Earthquake. Within a brief span of six months, three separate historical events happened that completely reshaped America. If you are over 62 years of age, you might remember them: 1. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech (8/28/1963) 2. The assassination of John F. Kennedy (11/22/1963)…
Read MoreTough and Competent: An American Legacy
TweetShareShareToday we celebrate the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon in 1969. It was a momentous and heroic feat, a testament to American strength, ingenuity and persistence. Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins are historic names and this moment an “American moment.” But we should never forget Apollo 1. Just two years…
Read MoreSchool Prayer Outlawed (June 26, 1963)
TweetShareShareToday is the anniversary of a ruling that was far more transformative to American culture than Roe v. Wade (1973). On this day, school prayer was ruled unconstitutional (a year later the same SCOTUS would opine that Bible readings were equally wrong). It’s the day religion (Christianity) was essentially segregated…and barred in the educational curriculum…
Read MoreThe Long Play (LP) Vinyl Arrives!
TweetShareShare Today is a big day in the “Vinyl is Final” world, as it’s the day that 33 1/3 rpm records debuted. This format allowed for longer recordings (around 30 minutes per side). The LP (long play) would be a significant technological innovation for the coming “rock ‘n roll” era that relied upon “singles”…
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