[Rick336]

Most of ya'll weren't around during the 1960s. But I was.

I was a teenager. I remember it as one of the most turbulent times in American history. Every night while our family would eat supper we'd watch the NBC Nightly News on tv. And every night we'd see news reports of the Viet Nam war and the daily updates of the number of American soldiers killed.

Presidents Johnson and Nixon both esculated the war as Americans became increasingly frustrated.

The streets became filled with huge anti-war protests as well as thousands of African Americans and women protesting in the streets for equal rights.

Some African Americans eventually became so frustrated with hate and racism that riots broke out all across the counrty. One-hundred fifty cities saw rioting and looting including my own home town. The riots in Detroit were the worst with 43 dead and 7,000 arrested. Thousands of homes and businesses were burned.

Many of the anti-war protests became violent and hundreds were beaten and arrested. During an anti-war protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago Americans watched on tv as police clubbed hundreds of protesters and dragged them off to jail.

By 1973 things had settled down and the Viet Nam war finally ended. African Americans and women eventually got equal rights. The 70s and 80s and 90s were quiet in comparison. I never thought I'd ever see times like the 60s again.

Until now.

In 2006 we've got anti-war protesters against the war in Iraq and W Bush is the pro-war president in the whitehouse. And the street protesters are gays and immigrants demanding a chance for the American dream.

Today ( April 29 ) there is a massive anti-war demonstration in New York City where thousands have taken to the streets to bring an end to the war in Iraq. On Monday thousands more will march all across America in support of immigration rights.

There's talk of a demonstration by gay rights activists at the Republican national convention and plans for another national March on Washington in 2008 for GLBT rights. And there was the SoulForce Equality Riders tour this Spring and the non-violent march and vigil planned by Soulforce in Colorado Springs in July.

The tension in America today is not yet what it was in the Sixties but it could be slowly approaching that. People are back in the streets demanding change. Hopefully this time cool heads will prevail and change will come without violence.

These times remind me of that Sixties song by Buffalo Springfield called
"For What It's Worth". The lyrics written in 1966 are of a growing unrest in America. The words "There's a man with a gun over there" refer to the soldiers in Viet Nam. The other words are obvious. These lyrics could have easily been written in 2006:

For What It's Worth - Bullalo Springfield 1966

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down