Throughout the late 1960's and into the 1970's, America was at war with Vietnam and itself. Abroad we fought a hidden enemy, one which we knew was there, lurking in the dense jungles of Southeast Asia, but at home the enemy was far different and sometimes more dangerous - ourselves. It wasn't a civil war in the traditional sense, we weren't killing our brothers, but we were, indeed, a house divided. Our parents and many of our professors were at the front line of these "battles," standing protest at government buildings, blockading troop transports, chanting and marching on college campuses around the nation, including our very own. It was only thirty years ago that many of our parents and professors did not agree with the American government and loathed the changes to the "American way of life" that they perceived to have occurred. They took to the streets, divided amongst the various groups that crisscrossed the spectrum of American anger. Racial division, ideological canyons, and skepticism of our very way of life created a nation that was not united to a common cause but splintered with broad emotions of fear and rage. The most indelible images have to be that of the American flag, the most revered and consecrated symbol that our nation has, set aflame by the protesters, our mothers and fathers, our educators.
What a stark difference we find today. With the tragic events of the past week still branding itself unto our conscious and collective American minds, we find that many of these very people, who had such strong convictions against our government and nation, unfurling the American flag and raising it upon their homes. From burning to brandishing and protest to support. It is true that the protestations died down quite some time ago, and the once radical generation has diffused into the calmer corporate sect of America, but still it seems as if the post-war generation is facing a reversal of sorts, a coming of age.
My own mother, whose own stories of Woodstock and anti-war protests color my childhood memories, told me what a weird sensation it was to be buying an American flag. "I can't believe I'm coming here only to buy an American flag to fly outside my own home when thirty years ago I was watching them burn," she mentioned to one of her friends at a Home Depot in New York. It is within this stark role reversal that, not only is the history of an American generation being written, but so too is the strength and power of the patriotic identity that roams along our land.
Often, if not most times, it is not apparent. We live our lives softly and humbly, rarely displaying any love for our country, except of course on the calendar holidays our nation has created. It is only on rare occasions that the American culture is displayed, the one that lets us all rally amongst a common cause, a general enemy, and an all-encompassing love for our people and our land. It came out during Pearl Harbor, when Kennedy was killed, and when the Challenger exploded over the sea. In this most recent tragedy, let us grieve for the lives of those who have been lost, and let us also celebrate the compassion and patriotism slipping through the usually benign American consciousness. It is something so powerful and fortuitous that it takes an entire generation that was once riveted by the hatred of the nation's ideals, torn even amongst it's own people over the idea of what America should be and creates within them such a patriotic pride, that they love the land and leadership of a nation they once seemed to despise.
Perhaps the recent attacks will, like Pearl Harbor, awake within us a great call to action, not just for the coming weeks and months, but for many years to come. Perhaps now we can reevaluate our priorities and values as a society, and reflect upon the tragedy as not only a grievous attack on humanity, but as a great impetus for societal overhaul. We must and will change our lifestyles due to the act of war perpetrated on Sept. 11 and realize that this is one nation, united forever by the common bonds of freedom and liberty. It is not a perfect society in which we live, none exists nor will ever exist, but at least we can celebrate our accomplishments while mending the many holes that exist within our nation, attempting to attain the idealist democracy we once thought we knew to have, but have since realized we've never had.
Adam Blickstein is a sophomore majoring in political science. He is the communications director for the Tufts Democrats.
