Spotlight - 13.2019

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Fotos: RapidEye, Cylonphoto/iStock.com; privat

Spotlight 13/2019 AMERICAN LIFE

age: come of ~ [eIdZ]

, volljährig werden

assassination [E)sÄsI(neIS&n]

, Ermordung , Mordanschlag

draft deferment: get a ~

[)drÄft di(f§:mEnt]

, vom Wehrdienst zurückgestellt

werden

edge: set sb. on ~ [edZ]

, jmdn. nervös machen

generational divide

[dZenE)reIS&nEl dI(vaId]

, Generationenkluft

giant leap [)dZaIEnt (li:p]

, großer Sprung, Riesensatz

lunar landing [)lu:n&r (lÄndIN]

, Mondlandung

mankind [mÄn(kaInd]

, Menschheit

memorable [(memErEb&l]

, unvergesslich, denkwürdig

race riot [(reIs )raIEt]

, Rassenunruhen

scarred [skA:rd]

, gezeichnet

teeter: ~ on the edge of a cliff

[(ti:t&r]

, sich am Rand einer Klippe

befinden

unfit for service

[Vn)fIt f&r (s§:vEs]

, wehrdienstuntauglich

weather sth. [(weD&r]

, etw. überstehen

AMERICAN LIFE

he decade of the 1960s was a turbulent one in Amer-

ica. It’s when I came of age, and many events from

that time made a very big impression on me. Now,

50 years later, we’re close to the end of the “20-teens”

— which may not be a real word. It’s a good time to

look back at some of the major events that shaped

the 1960s.

There were the assassinations of President John F.

Kennedy (1963), his brother Senator Robert F. Ken-

nedy (1968), and civil-rights leader Martin Luther

King, Jr. (1968). During that decade, race riots took

place in cities around the US, setting the country on

edge. King lived by the principle of nonviolence, but

his assassination led to further riots.

On college campuses and in cities, student pro-

tests against the Vietnam War began as we moved

through the decade. The Civil War, 100 years earlier,

had divided the country, but ever since, Americans

had generally united behind the government in

times of war. Then came the Vietnam War, and the

country was divided once again — along economic

and generational lines. Many young men who could

afford to go to college got student draft deferments.

Others paid doctors to declare them unfit for service.

Those who were less well off were more likely to be

drafted and end up in Vietnam.

More than 58,000 soldiers died there, and many of

those who survived were physically or emotionally

scarred for life. College campuses became centers of

the war protests. There was also a generational di-

vide. My dad — like most others in his World War II

generation — firmly believed that we should stand

behind our government in wartime. I was a radical

college student who was open about my opposition

to the war. Our relationship was tested to its limits

during those years as we both passionately defended

our views.

But the 1960s were not all turbulence. There was

the lunar landing in 1969, when Neil Armstrong

stepped out of Apollo 11’s Eagle landing module and

so proudly said the words: “That’s one small step

for man, one giant leap for mankind.” And we expe-

rienced the music revolution, with The Beatles as

well as The Rolling Stones taking America by storm.

Speaking of music, who could forget Woodstock, the

1969 festival with an iconic poster that read “3 Days

of Peace & Music”? It’s hard to believe, but, yes, it’s

been 50 years. The beat goes on, and so does the list

of memorable events of the decade.

And now, at the end of the current decade, much

of today’s political rhetoric is designed to divide us

as a nation. Some fear that our democracy is teeter-

ing on the edge of a cliff. But let’s remember that we

have been through some very tough times before.

And let’s hope that our values and ideals are strong

enough to help us weather the current storms.

GINGER KUENZEL

is a freelance

writer who lived

in Munich for 20

years. She now

calls a small

town in upstate

New York home.

1969: the

American view

Unsere Kolumnistin beschreibt die Kontroversen,

die während der 60er-Jahre die amerikanische

Nation prägten – und teilten. Auf Seite 39 schildert

ein Australier diese Zeit aus seiner Perspektive.

MEDIUM US PLUS

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