1968

          

         Niya here: In Mark Kurlansky’s short yet powerful introduction to 1968: The Year that Rocked the World he paints an image of a world ready for any and all kinds of change. While the idea of a revolution was nothing new, 1968 marked the signal for all revolutions. It seems to be a generation full of people angry and ready for a change they were ready to join on to any battle!

          The evolution of technology was pivotal to the year in question. As technology was beginning to unite people in ways never before possible, we all became members of what some called the “global village”. For the first time, American at home were able to see the devastation and barbaric nature of the Vietnam War making the “important, distant events of the day […] immediate” (Kurlansky, 2005:xix). 

          Kurlansky ends his introduction lamenting for the year 1968 when “people spoke their minds and were not afraid to offend” (Kurlansky, 2005:xx) . Unfortunately, this time has long passed. We live in a world today where the rule of political correctness guides most political and social figures. And for those who do not subscribe to those rules, they are often vilified as insensitive or inappropriate. I find it hard to imagine living in this world Kurlansky describes where people were still shocked by the advancements of technology and felt free to express their perspectives. Instead, as I look at the world around me I see people sitting in silence glued to their cell phones, with nothing at all to say.