Not only do I highly reccomend them both to anyone who wants to gain a profound cultural insight into how far america has come in the past 50 years alone, but they also are an excellent reminder that The Man is exactly that- a singularity that can easily make mistakes, and who cares only for its own well being. Most of all, he is not to be trusted. For example, while America was attempting to crack down on Hippie drug use during the Vietnam war, the CIA was simultaneously trafficking herion by the shitload to appease eastern war lords, and it actually ended up in the hands of our soldiers themselves. While at first this was a legitimate way to deal with war stress (probably similar to what we're doing now with Prozac) at the height of the war an average of two soldiers were dying a day from overdoses- that's 1 in every four men of the entire army. Those who survived came back with serious addiction problems, and the CIA even helped them to smuggle heroin back to the US in body bags until the DEA was formed a few years later. Long story short- thanks to the government, we have heroin on our streets.
And heres a special snippet from "Sex: A Revolution" that really managed to get my blood boiling: At Cornell University in the 1950s, female students lived in proctored dormitories and had to always check in by 10:30 (no male visitors, of course) while the boys had no such limitations and could pretty much do as they pleased. Obviously this hits a soft spot for me (having had to deal with check-in for 3 years and still feeling a little deprived at a women's college) but it still makes me feel an incredible sense of relief that I'm growing up then and not now. I really think that kind of biased rule making is disgusting.
...And then I think to myself: But what if it still is? I take a lot for granted being a vagina-owner in America. If I were born in Africa I might have been forced to undergo a clitorectomy; If I were born in the conservative Middle East I would have had to remain subserviant to my husband and hide in a chidoor all day. And imagine the horrible things that go on in other countries? Yup, I think we've found at least one legitimate possible carreer path (aside from the small possibility of getting myself shot).
2 comments:
Interesting. It's strange to think that these events/circumstances occurred only a few decades ago. Though I can't understand how these programs ended up on VH1 instead of...the History Channel, maybe?
I know, right! Our generation missed this by an inch!
As for how they got on VH1, Hello, Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll...(Though they were definitley History Channel quality)
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