As bad as things seem to be in America – are things really that bad?
On The SOTA Rock Culture Calendar, two things happened on this day that can help put life today in perspective.
It was on November 12, 1966 that Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield wrote the iconic protest song, “For What It’s Worth,” which became a signature hit for the band. The lyrics and timing of the song suggest the song was about an anti-war protest. It was not.
On November 12, 1966, several thousand teenagers went to protest on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. The teens were protesting a new curfew law that had been ordered by the city.
Riot police were called out, even though there was no riot. Teenagers were beaten by police and from the little Stephen Stills saw and the more he heard, he was motivated to write:
There's something happening here
But 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
It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look, what's going down?
What a field day for the heat (Ooh ooh ooh)
A thousand people in the street (Ooh ooh ooh)
Singing songs and they carrying signs (Ooh ooh ooh)
Mostly say, "Hooray for our side" (Ooh ooh ooh)
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
Step out of line, the men come and take you away
We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look, what's going down?
A relatively peaceful protest by teens turned violent after a minor scuffle seemed to cause police to overreact. The riots became known as the “hippie riots” and were a flashpoint in the counterculture’s attitude toward the establishment. Ironically, the counterculture movement was fueled by the Boomer generation, which is now the establishment.
The primary reason for the curfew in 1966 was to reduce the presence of young, hippie-types who were just hanging out since they didn’t have the money to spend in businesses on the strip. It was a case of the then-establishment’s judgment of the way young people dressed and the music they supported. Doesn’t that describe America’s establishment today in 2021?
Also on this day, November 12, 1984, Madonna released her second album, which included the hits “Material Girl,” “Into The Groove,” “Dress You Up,” and “Like A Virgin,” which sparked controversy with America’s moral right. In 1984, these lyrics were deemed sexually inappropriate.
I made it through the wilderness
Somehow I made it through
Didn't know how lost I was
Until I found you
I was beat
Incomplete
I'd been had, I was sad and blue
But you made me feel
Yeah, you made me feel
Shiny and new (Hoo)
Like a virgin
Touched for the very first time
Like a virgin
When your heart beats
Next to mine
Gonna give you all my love, boy
My fear is fading fast
Been saving it all for you
'Cause only love can last
You're so fine
And you're mine
Make me strong, yeah you make me bold
Oh your love thawed out
Yeah, your love thawed out
What was scared and cold
Like a virgin, hey
Touched for the very first time
Like a virgin
With your heartbeat
Next to mine
The establishment was on edge over the sexual content of “Like A Virgin.” And during the 1984 MTV VMAs, Madonna added to the controversy by wearing a mock mini white wedding dress with a belt that read BOY TOY. In the provocative dress, Madonna crawled around on the floor and did pelvic thrusts for the live audience and cameras.
The event in 1966 and the reaction to the release of “Like A Virgin” in 1984 put into perspective all that we consider negative in society today. A young man is on trial now facing life in prison for purposely going to a protest - inspired by the questionable shooting of a Black suspect - with a rifle he was not legally allowed to carry with the intent of helping the police keep order. The young man shot and killed two people.
It is easy – but unfair – to judge the past based on today’s standards. Yes, in many ways, things have escalated in society, and social media has made everything more exaggerated. But the idea of young Americans challenging authority – the establishment – is nothing new.
The song “Like A Virgin” seems tame today, but when it was released in 1984, it was judged as sexually explicit. Today, the music of artists like Cardi B are sexually explicit, and, relative to the times, I don’t believe Cardi B is any more outrageous than Madonna was in 1984 and beyond.
Let’s take comfort in the reality that this country has survived the generational clash of ideas and morals between a young generation and the establishment. I see no reason why we will not endure the current conflicts that seem so devastating to us in 2021.
