Reply #108: The brief Kennedy era was quite conformist

[Tansy_Gold]

Very anti-communist, very pro-business, no great social programs.

The great Kennedy era events were the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Berlin Wall, all of which involved very strong national anti-communist sentiment. There was no attempt to foster even "peaceful co-existence" with the Soviets, and certainly none with Cuba. Although there were civil rights actions during Kennedy's administration, there was no significant legislation; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 as well as Affirmative Action all came under Johnson, partly as a result of Kennedy's assassination.

The "bridge" quality of Kennedy's term was the new spotlight on youth: John and Jackie Kennedy and their children were a real break from the tradition of grandfatherly-type presidents, and it happened to coincide with a new economic power (through advertising) for younger consumers. Culturally, however, and especially in terms of pop culture, the Kennedy years were a continuation of the Eisenhower years with little change.

Pop culture -- music, art, fashion, movies, etc. -- really changed in the U.S. with the arrival of the Beatles (who were, of course, highly influenced by American pop culture). And it was the pop culture that prompted the "generation gap" that pitted the baby boomer against the traditions of their Depression and WW@-era parents.

It's a weird convergence of events in the space of one year --
MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech -- August 1963
JFK's assassination -- November 1963
Beatles debut on Ed Sullivan Show -- February 1964
Civil Rights Act -- July 1964
Gulf of Tonkin "incident" -- August 1964
Discovery of bodies of Chaney, Goodman, Schwerner, in Neshoba, MS -- August 1964.

In a way, what happened was that pop cultural influence from outside the U.S. impacted a society that was in the process of becoming a military empire and thus tempered (for a while) some of that imperialism. Politically and economically, of course, the imperialism never vanished, but at least some of its effects were mitigated by social awareness. When that died (or was murdered), the path was clear for the neocons.