Miracle Men and Martyrdom

Shaking the status quo -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
When you look at the violent 1960’s, there are at least five assassinations that stand out:

➢ President Kennedy, 1963
➢ Medgar Evers, 1963
➢ Malcolm X, 1965
➢ Martin Luther King, 1968
➢ Robert Kennedy, 1968

Looking at this list, it’s disturbing that 3 of the 5 were prominent black activists – a couple even predicted their own untimely deaths. The KKK was actually implicated in the death of Evers. There were other “powers that be” who despised the Civil Rights movement (most notably the CIA and the FBI) but they didn’t provably kill anyone. J Edgar Hoover had a major axe to grind against MLK and kept a huge dossier on the civil rights leader.

In Oliver Stone’s JFK, he offered speculation of no less than five groups who loathed the Kennedy’s: the mafia, the KKK, the government of Cuba, the CIA and the KGB. To this day, there are lively discussions about who might have done the killing, if indeed there was a conspiracy. (Refer to my own previous blog, JFK Redux).

What invites all of this morbid speculation is the new popularity of Barack Obama – a photogenic, charming mover who currently stands a good likelihood of being our next President. At a rally yesterday, Obama pulled out his hanky and begged the audience’s pardon while he blew his nose. For this, he received a near ovation. People with this kind of magnetism are frequently seen as threats to the status quo. Black Democratic organizers have recently expressed fears about Obama’s safety for that very reason.

Looking at the 1960’s, our last flirtation with youthful, Democratic optimism, there is reason for concern. The Kennedy-hating groups listed above have (for the most part) lessened influence nowadays and collective xenophobia is certainly less than it was in 1968, but who can say for sure? Robert Kennedy was on a trajectory to be our President in 1968, and some group or groups felt strongly enough to take him out.

This is no dig against all Republicans – by and large a law-abiding group, but the forces of conservatism are still at work. Time “hath shown” that conservatives on a tear will stop at nothing to achieve an objective. Witness how the Neocons invaded Iraq in 2003; witness how Bob Perry and Karl Rove turned John Kerry’s Viet Nam heroism into a strong negative in 2004. Provide a “solid” enough motive, and supporting actions follow. It may be a character assassination if not capping somebody with a gun. If I were Obama, I’d take some extra precautions especially in the South. Many people have likened the whole 2008 race to the 60’s. Let’s keep the positive aspects of that comparison and lose the negative aspects of it this time around.


© 2008 blogSpotter

1965

The year it all changed -- Picture courtesy of ABC

by blogSpotter
I've always been fascinated by change -- not change for the sake of change, but real, progressive change. We see it everywhere and yet much of the time the changes are unsubstantial or stylistic in nature. I'd like to discuss a year, 1965, when very nearly everything changed. To be sure, 1965 was a year of stylistic changes -- '65 automobiles phased from a chrome-laden rocket style over to smooth, geometric lines. Young women and men became suddenly "mod", sporting bangs and Beatle boots. The major networks began showing all broadcasts in living color for fall of '65 and we were graced with the first airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Along with all of this, Gemini 2 was launched as part of the ambitious NASA space program.

All of these were visual cues to accompany the sea changes that were unfolding all around. President Johnson described his "Great Society" in the '65 State of the Union address. He signed the Social Security Act of 1965, establishing Medicaid and Medicare and simultaneously declared a War on Poverty. August of that year, he signed the Voting Rights Act into law. Some of the most influential legislation of modern times came to us in these few short months. 1965 was a momentous year in the struggle for civil rights. Martin Luther King and 35,000 civil rights activists marched from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery. Malcolm X was assassinated on the first day of National Brotherhood Week, and the Watts Riots broke out in Los Angeles.

The Viet Nam War was starting to dominate the news. In May, Berkeley staged a teach-in of 30,000 in which draft cards were observed being burned. In reaction, Johnson signed a law making draft-card burning punishable by 5 years in prison. The Pentagon informed Johnson that a major sweep of Viet Cong operations would call for an increase of troops from 120,000 to 400,000. Johnson followed this advice and the escalated war later became his political undoing.

The music of 1965 pop culture was a direct reaction to the turbulent times. Bob Dylan shocked fellow folk artists by using an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival. That August, he released Highway 61 Revisited which featured his magnum opus "Like a Rolling Stone". Meanwhile the Beatles were appearing at Shea Stadium and Jefferson Airplane debuted at the Matrix in San Francisco. Not all music was about war protest, to be sure, but the message of change was compelling nonetheless.

The events I just described here would make for a busy decade nowadays --- everything that could possibly change did so, and in grand scale. Someone coming out of a one year coma on 1/1/1966 might have trouble recognizing or reconciling a few things in the room. In 2008, we can only get excited by a new gizmo (iPhone) or maybe a writers' strike. While I'm by no means an Obama groupie, it might just be that Obama's ascendancy is some kind of reviving jolt to the political senses -- maybe an America striving to rediscover its activist past. We surely don't savor the idea of public assassinations or war escalation, but we probably relish the idea of being "relevant" once more -- the crackling energy of ideals in action. 1965 was such a period, and and we can hope that 2008 or 2009 reenergizes us once more.

© 2008 blogSpotter

Taking the Katy Trail

See and be seen -- Picture courtesy Friends of the Trail

by blogSpotter
As I sit here watching American Pie: Naked Mile, I’m reflecting on my discovery yesterday (at long last) of the Katy Trail. It’s ridiculous that I hadn’t already discovered this beautiful asset to our fair city (Dallas, TX if you’re unfamiliar w/ blogSpotter). It’s been open and highly publicized since 2000. Katy Trail is a concrete path, 12 feet wide, that extends 3.1 miles from Airline Drive in University Park all the way down to Victory Plaza in Uptown.

My initial walk was from Knox Street down to Lee Park and back on an unseasonably warm, beautiful Saturday in February. It took me 20 minutes each way, and my main regret was wearing Sketchers with thin soles; the other regret might be a venti Starbucks that gave me a need to go to the bathroom when I got back. The trail provided a straight shot to Lee Park – the same trip on foot and not using the trail would’ve been an hour of exhaust fumes and dodging cars on Cole Avenue.

The trail follows an abandoned railroad track donated to Dallas in 1993 by Union Pacific Railroad. It’s been beautifully landscaped and has frequent amenities such as benches, water fountains and ‘pooper scooper’ bag stands. It was crowded this day with what has to be the Who’s Who of trendy uptown couples (and some singles) walking their cairn terriers and talking about whatever the 30-something elite of Dallas talks about. If not for exercise, this trail is a great place just to see and be seen; walk the short section from Knox to Fitzhugh and back if you just want social exposure.

Along the way, you’ll see familiar streets from unfamiliar angles and upscale houses you didn’t know existed in all your 25 years of Dallas living. The Katy Trail is slated at some point to connect White Rock Park with Trinity Park – 17 miles in length. I can only imagine all the possibilities. The existing trail is already getting “trail oriented development” and is a great real estate incentive for nearby properties. Katy Trail joins these other Dallas offerings in it “word-classness”:

o DART Light Rail
o White Rock Park
o The Dallas Arboretum

One caution is that two women on the trail (in separate incidents) have been accosted recently -- during twilight hours, when the weather was cold and the trail was sparsely used. Coincidentally, a Hispanic woman was accosted by a group of young girls this weekend at the West End DART station. Both of these city attractions must be policed thoroughly so that they can fulfill their lifestyle-enhancing promises. Crime should not be allowed to destroy what we have. One track and trail at a time, Dallas will become a world-class city.

© 2008 blogSpotter

Fractured Fairytale?

A new twist on Camelot -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
As I write this on Super Tuesday evening, we are getting some strange results. Everyone thought that McCain would clean up, and that Hillary/Obama might get closer while still having 'Advantage Hillary'. That's not what we have...

The GOP is truly fractured -- a puzzle in two or three parts. The puzzle pieces seem to even have geographic associations. McCain has the East and Northeast. Romney has part of the West and Huckabee has claimed the South. Rather than be a clincher for McCain, the GOP is developing competing power centers and there will be way more punches thrown than anyone thought. GOP conventions usually have the excitement of a Methodist wedding reception -- coffee, doughnuts and platitudes on the house. This year there may be some people toking on cigars in the back room, cutting deals. The GOP convention may have more resemblance to an Irish keg party this time around.

The Democrats are also getting further from, not closer to -- a final resolution. Hillary has held much of her ground, but Obama has picked up some southern (Alabama) and Midwest (Kansas, Idaho) states that weren't even in scope before tonight. The Democrats may have more fomentation than we thought -- no forgone conclusions here.

Sometimes a candidacy is passed along like some kind of birthright or unwritten mandate. This will be a year where that isn't the case for either party. It's not really such a fluke considering that both parties have suffered from ideological drift and they need some clarification. No candidate, not even the photogenic Obama, is getting a fairytale send-off. All will have to stand ground, debate and deliver the message. I look forward to at least 10 rounds.

© 2008 blogSpotter