In 1988 I stopped into a tire shop in Grapevine, TX for some tires. Having coffee in the waiting room as they mounted them, I saw the 1/11/88 edition of Time Magazine in the rack. The cover declared, “1968 The Year That Shaped a Generation.”
Considering the articles within, one caught my attention, and I read it. It was titled, “1968 Like a knife blade, the year severed past from future.” Here are my takeaways (and some direct quotes) from that article.
The writer of that Time Magazine article (the late, Lance Morrow) wrote, “Nineteen sixty-eight had the vibrations of earthquake about it. America shuddered. History cracked open: bats came flapping out, dark surprises. American culture and politics ventured into dangerous and experimental regions…The year was pivotal and messy. It produced vivid theater. It reverberates still in the American mind.”
I was hooked by Morrow’s writing style, read the entire piece and still have a copy today. Growing up in the 1960’s myself, he hadn’t just reminded me of the times, he showed it to me.
He showed all of us of from the era (and even those who didn’t live it) the “blood in the streets of Chicago and Paris and Saigon.”
And the U.S.S. Pueblo being captured by North Korea in January; the crew held hostage until the end of the year. The Assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. Vietnam.
The most significant part of the article was about the dissension of the times – protests, riots, the trashing of all authority. The total meltdown of civilian trust in all matters of authority.
He suggested, a total loss of respect – even of our gallant older generation. “Don’t trust anyone over 30” became the mantra of the age. Paul Simon’s song lyrics confirmed, “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.”
Think About it
Remember the respect David had for Saul? Though Saul was a failed leader, David never disrespected him. We are told that, “David behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.” [i]
Was David’s respect for authority at least one of the reasons he was so honored in 1 Samuel 13:14 (NIV), “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people…”
How far have we gone from respect for authority?
[i] I Samuel 18:14 (KJV)

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