http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/20/RV4GVQU5M.DTL
Michael S. Roth
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Sixties Unplugged
A Kaleidoscopic History of a Disorderly Decade
By Gerard J. DeGroot
Harvard University Press; 508 pages; $29.95
Gerard J. DeGroot tells readers that his history of the 1960s, unlike
others published in the past decades, is "unplugged." By this he
means his story won't be distorted by amplification or enhancements.
DeGroot promises a view of the past "unprocessed, natural and raw.
... Free of ... filters that hide imperfection and distort meaning."
This is not only the self-serving rhetoric that simple-minded
empiricist historians churn out from time to time to cover their
biases, but it is also a setup to ask readers to put aside any of the
nostalgic myths they may have about the '60s.
DeGroot offers another myth, even older than the romantic ones he
wants to displace. For this author, who, surprisingly, also uses a
kaleidoscope metaphor for his supposedly unfiltered view of the past,
the years from 1960 to 1969 produced the triumph of cynicism, in
which freedom and sexuality turned into oppression and rape, idealism
produced chauvinism, and liberalism ran aground on an increasingly
polarized national political scene. DeGroot's own cynicism yields a
picture of a decade mired in hypocrisy, violence and incoherence. But
a kaleidoscope produces an image; it doesn't just reveal reality.
Not that there isn't plenty of material to confirm a cynic's view of
those stormy years. From his ironic take on the silly effort to quash
D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" at the beginning of the
decade, to his rehashing of the Rolling Stones-Hells Angels alliance
that almost closes it, DeGroot can easily find examples that run
against the grain of a rosy image of the decade. But who still has
such a rosy image? The author writes that he is attacking a "sacred"
period others have felt was immune to criticism, but he is just
pumping up the importance of his attack.
Ever since the 1970s, writers have looked back with a critical eye on
the naivete, violence and self-righteousness of the previous decade.
Limousine liberals were already being denounced in 1969, as was
radical chic, and mockery of student protesters began even during
their "days of rage." The same is true in many of the other countries
that saw student movements during that period. In Germany, France and
Britain, for starters, the legacy of '60s radicalism has been
disputed for years. We don't have to get "unplugged" for a critical
perspective.
"The Sixties Unplugged" does offer useful reminders of global events
that are not often juxtaposed with the protest movements of the time.
DeGroot presents concise and pointed accounts of the dynamic of
independence fighters and corruption in Congo and Indonesia, for
example, and he touches briefly on the murderous mayhem of the
Cultural Revolution in China. He describes the political machinations
of the CIA and a succession of presidents who consistently
overestimated their righteousness while they violated our laws and
moral codes. The defense of American interests trumped all, yet that
defense undermined our long-term political capital. Meanwhile, under
the guise of revolution and freedom, leaders around the world shored
up their power while exterminating whole classes of people. Or, in
the case of the Six Day War in the Middle East, states pursued
military solutions with disastrous consequences that their citizens
still live with today.
Although he pops as many idealistic bubbles as possible, this
historian is not cynical about all the characters or events he
describes. He admires Bob Dylan's capacity to re-create himself while
avoiding the expectations of others. Rachel Carson and Muhammad Ali
also get fairly sympathetic treatments. DeGroot occasionally does
recognize progressive victories. He writes of the "epiphany" of
feminism, and he acknowledges a sea change in the understanding of
rights and sexuality. "In time," he writes, "the concept of sexual
normality would cease to become a central preoccupation of the police
and the courts. Both would eventually be called upon to protect the
rights of those once considered abnormal."
DeGroot wants to destroy the notion that the '60s had a consistent,
logical development with a clear legacy. But he never mentions any
historians who hold this view about the decade, or, for that matter,
any other time period. It is useful to note, as he does, that there
were many more Young Republicans in 1967 than there were members of
SDS, and it is good to be reminded that while many were paying
attention to the growth of radicalism, Ronald Reagan was preparing
his ascendancy to national power. But in the service of debunking the
hopes of young radicals, it is strident and foolish to talk about the
"carnage" of Woodstock or the "summer of rape."
DeGroot's conceit of being "unplugged" is also his disguise for being
an objective observer without an agenda. But cynicism is an agenda.
Good history is not just scornful debunking, and thoughtful
historical accounts require empathy, not just irony. In one of the
calculated lapses into crude language in this book, DeGroot reflects
on how some writers viciously criticize heroes from the past. "Birds
s- on statues," he notes. So do historians, but it takes more than
that to produce an understanding of the past. {sbox}
--
Michael S. Roth is president of Wesleyan University. He blogs at
roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu. E-mail him at books@sfchronicle.com.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment