I
believe that was the decade that most greatly influenced my life. I wasn’t born in the sixties, I wasn’t
married in the sixties, and my child wasn’t born in the sixties. So, why the sixties? You see, I am part of the “Baby Boomer”
generation. Baby Boomers are people born
between 1946 and 1964. And, in the
sixties we Baby Boomers were reaching our teens and early twenties.
Ask almost any Baby Boomer the defining event
in the generation, and they will tell you it was the assassination of President
Kennedy. We all know exactly where we
were and what we were doing when we heard the news - I was in the sixth grade,
living in Jacksonville, Florida. Other
things that greatly affected our generation were the Cuban Missile Crisis, the
Civil Rights Movement, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby
Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the first man on the moon, and the Women’s Liberation
Movement – all in the sixties.
Not only were our lives greatly impacted by all
of these things, but the Baby Boomer generation has had and continues to define
so many things in the economy. Men and
women today have different family roles because of Women’s Liberation. Prior to the changes brought on by “Women’s
Lib”, the roles of men and women in a family were very clearly defined. But, more women began to enter the workforce,
and that brought changes to the way homes were run, families raised, and
marriages maintained. Divorce rates rose
dramatically because the traditional roles of men and women changed, and adjustments
weren’t easy.
And, fun?
Oh yes, we did have fun in the sixties.
We tuned in to The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Simon
and Garfunkel, The Temptations, The Supremes, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob
Dylan, Chubby Checker and Peter, Paul and Mary.
We listened to rock, beach, folk and soul music – and, we danced the
Twist, the Pony, and the Shag. We grew
our hair long, we wore our skirts short, and we burned our bras. We had Flower Power, drugs, free sex, surfing
and Woodstock. We played records, we had
transistor radios, and we had color television.
We had “Princess” telephones, Ladybug dresses, pierced ears, and circle
pins. We were preppie, hippie, and everything in between. We marched, we protested and we rebelled.
Now, the earliest Baby Boomers are just
beginning to reach their sixth decade.
And, watch out world because they are still rebelling.
******************************************Please be certain to come back tomorrow forWhat's My Question Wednesday
I
love What's My Question Wednesday. It is so interesting to read each
of your perspectives on my question of the week. I hope you will begin to come by and take the time to answer my question.
You will enjoy reading the other responses, too.I'll be looking for you.
