1968

Reading about this 12 month period is insane.
I never realized how hot blooded America was at itself in the postwar era until I read a bit about this year
Riots, protests,pop culture transforming ,assassinations, wars,spree killings,presidents quitting, a third party getting electoral votes

Take about Americas most important year since WW2

God forbid we talk about anything other than Rome,Communism, or Stirner

Anyone that looks closely at the events of 1968 and still doesn't believe that the base shapes the superstructure is a god damn idiot.

Post-war and pre-68 America is fascinating.

Such an interesting time. It should be called the 'Second' Gilded Age, because that's exactly what it was: on the outside, apparent prosperity and harmony and conservatism. But a deeper look inside, and the revelation of all sorts of festering problems assailing the country: racial tensions, high unemployment, sexual frustration, paranoia and uncertainty, the growth of media and pop culture (which had never existed), the cultural gap between young and old...

Extremely fascinating.

Safe to say that 2016-2017 is shaping up to be this generation's 1968?

>ywn get to be a police officer cracking filthy hippies' skulls with your baton in Chicago

>Civil Rights not going over well in the South almost leading to Civil War 2.0
>Assassinations of all the good leaders who could change things
>Vietnam going to hell in bloodiest year of the war
No wonder so many people just wanted to drop out, fry their brains with acid and smoke pot.

Other history forums have moratoriums on certain topics when they get too frequent. Unfortunately, Veeky Forums isn't other history forums

Not him, but I'd say yes, but on a smaller scale. We're a lot more placated than they were and the social upheaval has mostly already happened. The 60's really laid the groundwork for a lot of the shitty stuff we're dealing with now though.

I can see it.

The racial tensions are there, as well as the massive unemployment and the economic inequality disproportionately affecting the 20 - 30 groups, i.e. the most volatile ones ; there is also a growing divide between age (the young resent the old, the old berate the young) groups, as well as the culture wars that manifest between supposed Rightism and Leftism.

I'd say the conditions are there, but the spark is unable to start because the Internet is dampening said spark. Sure, life sucks: but one can go on the Internet to vent, laugh at funny videos and memes, and lose themselves in the absurdist environment.

>you could drop out of high school, hop on an assembly line, and become middle class or pay your way through college working part-time
Pfffft. Hippies were just whiny morons. They had it damn good.

The late 60s were also Americas richest time per person
Jobs for factories and white collar offices

Kinda shits on the thinking of poor economies leading to increased hostility

If you were
One of those factory workers though you might get shipped off to Saigon

>Civil Rights not going over well in black communities almost leading to Civil War 2.0
>Character assassinations of the very few good leaders who could change things
>Middle East going to hell after years of bloody war

No wonder people want to just drop out and fry their brains with memes and Pokemon.

The unemployment wasnt bad though

Time truly is a flat circle

>find out about the draft
>enroll in local college or get married
>get a deferment

It's more that late capitalism is a frozen moment in time and everything has become a facsimile of everything else.

>everyone finds out you're a draft dodger
>can't find job

>go smoke some pot with the local riff raff, join commune, have dirty hippy orgies
Life on easy mode

This can be a good thing though

>new guy joins commune
>he shows you the way to a mind journeys
>becomes leader
>you die in a cult mass Suicide or become a Manson lackey