Controlling Social Media?

I read a thought provoking, albeit a little over the top, reaction to the impact of social media, particularly Facebook. It was by The Atlantic's technology writer, Adrienne LaFrance, and called  https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/12/facebook-doomsday-machine/617384/.

LaFrance first insists on comparing today's social media platforms (not only Facebook, but YouTube and Google as well) to an apocalyptic doomsday machine called "megadeath." Really? She seems, in my view, to be hell bent on controlling the free flow of information and with controlling these prominent, 21st century internet communication platforms. Hmmm. Who's being more dangerous here? 

She states that, "Facebook has become a borderless nation-state with a population of users as big as China and India combined, governed by secret algorithms." That is an intriguing thought. I am pleased to be a citizen in such a nation-state.

Related, interestingly, Hillary Clinton opined, "talking with Mark Zuckerberg feels like negotiating with the authoritarian head of a foreign state. This is a global company that has huge influence in ways that we are only beginning to understand." I certainly do not doubt that to be the case. There are currently 2.7 billion monthly users of Facebook. As an age 70-pluser, to be able to interact with people around the world about issues of common concern and interest on a daily basis is a gift beyond description.

LaFrance further states, "As the age of reason was, in part, a reaction to the existence of the printing press, we need a new philosophical, moral framework for living with the social web, a new Enlightenment for the information age, a philosophy of personal responsibility." Social media technology has certainly gotten far out in front our ability to think through all it's implications. More useful and appropriate adaption to this media format will require bright, responsible, concerned individuals involved with the technology, not shunning it and wanting to eliminate it.

Reason and responsibility will prevail, as it has over the centuries, as we have moved from one medium of communication to another, as long as reasonable, responsible people stay engaged. No doubt we need bright people to build alternatives to Facebook and other current social media platforms and to improve those which exist. What we don't need is a politburo of technology, self-annotated guardians of proper culture as they interpret it, dictating and censuring information and communication methods and formats.   

Pandemic 2020

A Moment During the 21st Century Coronavirus Worldwide Pandemic

As I sit by a second floor window overlooking a cloudy, misty, overcast and cool day, reading of the European build up to WWII, surrounded by my 19th and 20th century historical artifacts, quarantined and sequestered due to a 21st century worldwide pandemic, I’m reflective, meditative, prayerful.

Excellent, Concise Statement on The American Cilvil War

Much is being said and written today about the American Civil War, especially as it relates to monuments, the reason for the war, the flag, and Robert E. Lee's dilemma. I think this (a comment in a Facebook thread related to Robert E Lee) is an excellent, accurate, concise statement on the issue of Lee’s dilemma, and that of many, at the onset of the Civil War. I could not agree with it more. Obviously, it is oversimplified and understated, but it gets at, succinctly, the origin of the issue related to the war and Lee. 

“The commonly held concept of what constituted the United States of America was much more wide ranging in 1860 than today.  Many Americans felt their first loyalty was to their State and not to the Federal government in Washington.  Lee was offered command of the Union Army but he resigned his commission and stood with Virginia.  Lee’s father fought in the Revolution, and many believed that war was a confederation of individual states against the Crown. In 1860, many Americans saw the coming conflict in the same terms. President Lincoln’s overriding goal was to preserve the Union. The conflict followed.  Lee felt he had done as his duty dictated, as did many others on both sides.  The war settled the issue of whether the country was one nation, or a confederation of semi-independent states.  In the passion of the times, Lincoln was hated by many, and so was Lee.  I consider both to be great Americans.”

This statement is reconciling. It is consensus building. It reflects a reasonable and accurate approach to the issue of Lee's dilemma and the war. I learned from it.

Friend Bill Sharpe, 'We Knew He Was a Christian.....

Today I was honored to attend the Celebration of Life for friend Bill Sharpe on the campus of Elon University.  It was held in historic Whitley Auditorium where Bill held many chapel and counseling sessions as Elon chaplain and where I attended many mandatory chapels as a college student at Elon in the late 1960s.

Bill was such an accomplished, delightful, cool person, one of those 'forever age 50' people. Bill was a Duke undergraduate, Duke Divinity School graduate, a pastor, a college chaplain, and college administrator,. He had a love for the theater, he wrote plays, and he wrote poetry. He loved sports and was active in the NC Senior Games. He had a beautiful wife of 60 years, 3 beautiful daughters, and 7 grandchildren, one of whom was Atlantic Coast Conference Golf Champion in 2016 and is now a golf professional.

Bill's life was characterized by inclusion, social justice, and an open-mindedness to the world and God's possibilities in it.  He participated in the Durham civil rights sit-ins in the early 1960s as a Duke student and later served on a community race relations committee. He heard Martin Luther King preach in 1960 and was moved and inspired by it. He opened his heart to gays and lesbians as early as the 1970s.  He once told me the story of, as a teenager,  thumbing from his small eastern NC hometown, with a buddy, to the 1952 Democratic convention in Chicago and hearing Harry Truman's give his Farewell Address.  His life of activism, accomplishment, and adventure amazes and inspires me.

Most of all, Bill's life was characterized by his deep love of God  and commitment to his faith. Bill lived fully into the story of Jesus. He was faithful to God's gifts to him. He touched many lives with his kindness, his humor, his intellect, and his love. He lived life fully. Bill wrote the prologue to the celebration of his life. It was beautiful and moving. He reminded us, among many favorite, meaningful passages, of John 13: 35 ….'they'll know we are Christians by our love for one another….'

Patrick Murphy, Pastor at Front Street United Methodist Church in Burlington, read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:7) from the Message Version of the Bible.  Please read that version.  He also prayed the beautiful Gaelic Blessing, "Deep Peace", which I had never heard and which was a favorite of Bill's:

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of Christ, of Christ the light of the world to you.
Deep Peace of Christ to you.

I am so grateful I got to know Bill Sharpe. It reinforces to me how many wonderful people there are in the world...…….. some of whom we are fortunate and blessed that God sends our way.  

Liberals Need Fresh Ideas; National Conservatism Is On the Move

Conventional politics is at it's end. It's pretty easy to sense that. This past weekend the National Conservatism Conference met in Washington, DC. The press basically missed it. They were busy bloviating over the disaster in the White House, Donald Trump, and his destructive tweets.

These are national hawks who met. They are concerned with (as they see it), among other things, the post-cold war order of weak borders and straitjacketed free trade ideology and policies.

Among speakers who were there was the star of TVs top-rated cable news show (Tucker Carlson), the Trump administration's national security advisor John Bolton, Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Theil, the rapidly rising senator Josh Hawley, and the best selling author J. D. Vance (Hillbilly Elegy). Those were the marque names, but the rest of the speakers, and many of the attendees as well, were just as notable, if not as well known.

Their primary focus, according the Daniel McCarthy, author of this piece on the event, seemed to be:

1) Striking at laws and cultural assumptions that permit tech companies to amass wealth and power.

2) Striking at the bastions of liberal ideology in higher education.

3) Supporting American industry for the sake of workers as well as national security.

4) Adopting a more restrained foreign policy than the US has seen since the end of the Cold War.

McCarthy says, "The mystique of policy in Washington is a religion, but real policies are not the result of blueprints or manifestos, they are the product of talent applied to circumstance. What was different about this was that these were people who specialize in opening new fronts in ideological conflict."

The right doesn't have demographics on their side going forward, nor the moral high ground in my view, but they appear to have ideas which are crystallizing. The left of center folks better come up with a fresh view of the new world in which we find ourselves, and a direction for it. Freshening up stale, old New Deal ideas and policies in the year 2020, will not cut it. National Conservatives appear galvanized and inspired. This could be the beginnings of a new conservative intellectual movement, paradoxically, with Donald Trump as it's leader.

Senior Chief, US Navy, Irvin A. Godfrey and the USS Missouri

I found the above pictured medallion that my late Uncle, Senior Chief, US Navy, Irvin A. Godfrey, received (as did all aboard), and gave to me long ago, in commemoration of being aboard the USS Missouri when General Douglas MacArthur boarded the ship for the formal signing of the Instrument of Surrender by the Japanese Government, formally ending WWII, Tokyo Bay, Sept 2, 1945. Here read an account (Click here) of the ceremony and events leading up to it, and General MacArthur's famous, short, historic speech that ended World War II.

There is a great old Native American proverb which I love. It, basically says, we stand in the center of six generations, three generations that came before us, parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, and three generations which are coming after us, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. And all that we do and that we say should serve to honor the past generations, and teach the generations coming after us.  I believe this bit of history will serve to do just that.

"Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, A Virginia Town, and a Civil Rights Battle"

I make a book recommendation: "Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, and a Civil Rights Battle", by Kristen Greene. 

The book has a Greensboro tie. It is a fascinating story about Prince Edward County VA (Farmville) public schools completely closing down for five years (1959-1964) in reaction to Brown vs The Board and opening a 'whites only' academy with the public school money. There was no school option for children of color in the county during that time. (It was the only school system in the country to completely close down as a result of Brown v Board.). 

The Prince Edward Academy (whites only) was going broke in 1993 when billionaire JB Fuqua contributed $10M dollars to upgrade it. He hired creative, brilliant, private school turnaround specialist who grew up in Greensboro and graduated from Page in 1967. She turned this tainted, rundown school around, made it diverse, progressive, academically and athletically strong and moved it into the 21st century. 

It’s a story of the old South, civil rights and segregation, the struggle for forgiveness, reconciliation and atonement. Ruth Shuping Murphy, who JB Fuqua hired and made President and Headmaster, is featured prominently in the book. JB Fuqua (born in Farmville) is also the donor for whom the Duke Business School is named. 

It is fascinating history, story, and a great read.  My wife and I took a day trip to Farmville VA.  We visited the Moton Civil Rights museum (in the old, dilapidated black high school from which black students walked out in 1951), the Fuqua School, and the black First Baptist Church where Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy came and spoke and to lend support to the black community.  I will be attending a lecture at Elon University on Wednesday, September 12, given by author Kristen Greene. The book is the 'community read' for Fall at Elon.  I will update my blog afterward. 

The Harrison's of the 19th Century, Collecting, and a Symmes Family Tie

Although I am a collector of early 20th century political items, I have developed a minor interest in 19th century political item collecting.  As I became involved with it, I recalled that my wife, the former Jean Courtland Symmes, is a direct descendant, on the paternal side of her family, of prominent 19th century politicians and Presidents of the United States, William Henry and Benjamin Harrison. While I intend to keep my focus on early 20th century political collecting, this recollection has heightened my interest in adding additional 19th century items to my collection.  

William Henry Harrison was an American military officer (prominent in conflicts with Native Americans and leader in the famous Battle of Tippecanoe), a politician (Whig), and the ninth President of the United States.  He died of pneumonia thirty-one days into his first term in office.  Harrison was a son of Founding Father Benjamin Harrison V and paternal grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States. He was the last president born as a British royal subject in the original thirteen colonies before the American Revolution (1775-1783).

William Henry Harrison was born the seventh and youngest child of Benjamin Harrison V and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison at Berkeley plantation along the James River in Charles City, Virginia, February 9, 1773. He attended Hampton Sidney College, and in 1795, at age 22, met Anna Tuthill Symmes of North Bend, Ohio. She was daughter of Anna Tuthill and Judge John Cleves Symmes , who served as a Colonel in the American Revolutionary War.  William and Anna Symmes Harrison had ten children including Elizabeth Bassett (1796-1846), John Cleves Symmes (1798-1830), father of future US President Benjamin Harrison, Benjamin (1806-1840), and Mary Symmes (1809-1842).

Benjamin Harrison, (1833 - 1901), was an American politician and lawyer (Whig and Republican), who was elected the 23rd President to the United States in 1888, defeating the Democratic incumbent, Glover Cleveland. He was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, the great grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a founding father, and son of John Scott Harrison and Elizabeth Ramsey Harrison.

The above pictures from my collection include a large, period portrait of William Henry Harrison, and a 19th century and 20th century collection of period pieces, reunion pieces (such as Gettysburg), anniversary pieces (such as Washington's birthday), and advertisement pieces, among other items.  In addition to the large portrait item, there are three prominent 19th century Harrison pieces in the collection: a vintage die-cut hat ad (center of frame) and a cabinet card (bottom center) of Benjamin Harrison and his wife, and a portrait card of William Henry Harrison (upper left).

An interesting and politically prominent 20th century Harrison and Symmes family descendant was Harrison Matthews Symmes (1921-2010), brother of my wife's father, Andrew Harriss Symmes, Sr., (1923-2016). A dear friend of my immediate family, Harrison served as US Ambassador to Jordan (1967-1970), US Under Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs (1963-1966), and Resident Director of Mount Vernon (1977-1980).

1920 Cox / Roosevelt Ticket

James M. Cox was born on this day in 1870.  He was Democratic nominee for President in 1920.  You will recognize his running mate.  He is modern day Cox Communications.  They were soundly defeated by a GOP ticket of Harding and Coolidge.

This pin is 'the flagship', 'the holy grail' of buttons of the American political memorabilia collecting hobby (along with a few other Cox / Roosevelt jugate buttons). (I do not own it).

Giancarlo Stanton - A Reason to Read The Box Scores in 2018

Giancarlo Stanton has amazing, mammoth power. He is an amazing athlete. And to top it off, in 2018 he is a New York Yankee hitting in the line-up just behind 6 feet 9 in, 285 lb. Aaron Judge. 

For a baseball fan, the most exciting play in all of sports is a home run.  The most prized records in all of sports are home run records.  Stanton will make this baseball season most exciting.  He hit 59 home runs in 2017.  He has begun the 2018 season with two tape measure shots in his opening game as a New York Yankee.

Stanton's HR in the first inning of Opening Day measured 426 feet. The exit velocity was measured at 117.3 mph, the fastest for a batted ball at Rogers Centre in Toronto since Statcast began tracking in 2015. The previous fastest exit velocity at the park was held by Judge (113.6 mph).

According to MLB.com, Stanton's first-inning homer also had the hardest exit velocity for any home run hit to the opposite field since Statcast has tracked such things. His homer in the ninth to straightaway center off Tyler Clippard wasn't quite as hard (109.4 mph) as the first, but it did travel farther (434 feet).

Stanton hit 39 home runs in a short minor league season in Greensboro in 2008.  He will definitely provide reason to read the box scores in 2018.  Take a look at his opening day shot here.  Enjoy the summer.  At this point, he is the most Ruth-esque player of our lifetime.

Genetic Testing - Brief Summary

Fascinating is the human genome project and services such as 23andme.  Do we want to know that we have a genetic mutation that predicts Alzheimer's disease, cancers, asthma, obesity, diabetes, etc.?

Genetic testing is the process of having your DNA sequenced and associating your DNA sequence with possible health outcomes.  Genetic testing can predict possible health outcomes for you and your children.

DNA consists of 4 bases: G, A, T, and C. Your entire genetic makeup (your genome) consists of 3,000,000,000 base pairs in a specific order.  All of us are 99.5% identical at the DNA level.  That, of course, means we are unalike related to 150,000,000 base pairs.

As we inherit gene combinations from our parents, and as they are mapped, simple genetic diseases become predictable. But most human traits are multi-factorial. That is, most traits, including many chronic diseases, are the end result of multiple factors. These factors are be both genetic and environment (nature and nurture).

The relative impact of genetic versus environmental factors varies in each case, making many diseases hard to predict from genetic information  Each disease may have both positive and negative genetic inputs: the balance a of your personal genetics, in addition to environmental factors, ultimately determine your risk of disease.

We now know genetic risk factors for many diseases including Alzheimer's, cancers, asthma, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and others. I encourage you to read about 23andme and learn more.  We are just beginning to understand many of the genetic inputs into human disease, but the science has progressed amazing fast due to technology enhancements, and the benefits to managing health outcomes related to what we learn can be huge.

......Another fascinating Elon University Life-Long Learning Class, presented by Elon Professor Dave Parker, PhD., Biochemist and Applied Molecular Biologist (University of Manchester (UK),  University of Michigan, and Duke University).  

Writing Your All-Important Life Story

I feel moved to write a short encouragement to you regarding your personal story.  Do not leave this world without telling people who you are.  I have taken a shot at it.  It, like my life, is a work in progress.

My course at Elon University yesterday (I am in a life-long learning program for people over age 55) was about writing your life story.  It was taught by a past Elon Chaplain who specializes in this subject.  

To get started, he encourages prospective writers to begin by writing paragraphs about memories that matter.  Additionally, he asks such questions as: what places have you called home?  Who were the key people in those places? Who were your mentors and what was their story? What key events shaped your life?....within your family or friends, and what national or world events? Recall a moment when you found your own voice, spoke up for yourself, and in doing so announced a perspective to the world different from your friends or family.

When did your life take an unexpected or unwanted change? Was that change harmful or beneficial in the long run? We're encouraged to explore vocational choices, our faith perspective and core values, skills that enriched our lives, special trips/vacations we took, special interests/hobbies.  He encourages us to reflect upon our childhood, adolescence, adulthood, matures years, our families and professional life, our intimate friendships. We are encouraged to be open and honest and to think about the big questions. Where have we been?  What have we done with our lives?

And very importantly to me, we must reflect on, nearly daily, and make a part of our story, what are we doing with our lives now, and where are we going.  What are our plans and dreams and goals for our lives going forward? How will we continue to be the people God would have us be?  How will we continue to enjoy and enrich our lives, the lives of others, and contribute to a better world?  

Again, I encourage to you to begin this process. Reflect. Maybe begin by telling your story to a trusted friend. There is a great deal of help on google under 'how to write my memoir.'  Happy reflecting. Go tell your story.  Final tips:

Why write about your life?


12. To find you: You won’t know how brilliant you are until you see yourself on paper where you’re honest, not judging yourself and no one is watching.

Write to hear your voice.

11. To find the next step on your path: To consider where to go next, it helps to understand how your past choices got you to today.

Write where you’ve been.

10. Because there is value in remembering: You write, and you remember. Writing pulls from places we don’t visit in our daily lives.

Write to remember.

9. Because you’re bound to learn something: Writing about your life gets you to wondering why something happened, or how you got this way.

Write to dig deeper.

8. To feel better: Your story may have some pain in it. On the page the fear is gone, the sting relieved.

Write to get through the tough parts.

7. Because you have a lot to be grateful for: You’re fortunate—in your family, living in this time, being loved.

Write to tap into your gratitude.

6. To pass on some enlightenment: You’ve learned a lot in your experiences, travels, and relationships. You’re a warehouse of wisdom.

Write to share your message.

5. To show the rest of you: There is more to you than spouse, worker, sibling and friend. You have opinions, feel passionately, and live with your heart.
Write to show your full self.

4. To share the strength and the failures: If you decide to let someone read your writing, (and you don’t have to) you just might spare your reader having to learn the hard way.

Write to share your story.

3. To get your side of things on the record: There is always someone who tells a version of the truth that simply isn’t how you remember it.

Write to tell it your way.

2. To leave a piece of yourself behind: Our writing lives on, is savored and treasured by others and has a depth of connection our loved ones crave.

Write to leave a piece of yourself for someone.

1. Because you can. We are the only species that can communicate this way. Studies prove that the physical experience of pulling our stories, finding our words, and sifting through our memories releases the bliss chemicals, helps center us.

Picture of the Day - 20th Century North Carolina Icons

If you love North Carolina history, this picture will hold significance for you.  Here we have long-time UNC President Bill Friday, Governor Luther Hodges, Sr., Ted Kennedy, Rose Kennedy, Governor Terry Sanford, Billy Graham. That is undoubtedly an 'all-star' grouping of significant 20th century North Carolina, and national, leaders in government, education, and religion.

I am not 100% certain, but I believe the occasion has the Kennedy's in Chapel Hill to receive a NC contribution toward construction of JFK Presidential Library. Governor Sanford, the NC governor at the time of the photograph, was very close with the Kennedy's, being the first southern leader to endorse JFK for president. The portrait benind them, hanging in the Southern Historical Collection in The Wilson Library at UNC, is of Confederate Brigadiar General James Johnston Pettigrew.

Thought for the Day - February 15, 2017

I am not sure the White House or Trump senses the magnitude of their problem. We are on the verge of a huge, protracted national story and constitutional crisis related to the Russian / White House connection. Reporters, the opposition party, and smart, non-ideologically obsessed Republicans like McCain, Graham, Corker, and Blunt smell blood in the water. It will be the story of a generation, not dissimilar to Watergate. It is so evident, and of course, not a completely origninal thought on my part. Trying to insulate themselves by calling on conservative media for softball questions at press conferences, will not work. Fasten your seat belts.

To Survive We Must Understand and Respect Change, Then Adapt

In Thomas Friedman's new book, "Thank You For Being Late; An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations", he emphasizes that the planet's three largest forces--technology, globalization, and climate change are accelerating all at once. These accelerations are transforming five key realms: the workplace, politics, geopolitics, ethics, and community.  The reason it is happening is the exponential increase in computing power, that is, the release of the IPhone, advances in silicon chips, software, storage sensors, and networking.

A key to the future will be adaptability.  It is most interesting to me to observe the extent to which individuals, institutions, and governments adapt to, and embrace, change.  Friedman points out that Charles Darwin is often quoted as saying that, "it is not the strongest species that survives but the most adaptable". Actually, this quote emerged from a speech delivered by LSU business professor Leon C. Megginson at the convention of the Southwestern Social Science Association in 1963.  Megginson said:

"Yes, change is the basic law of nature. But the changes wrought by the passage of time affect individuals and institutions in different ways.  According to Darwin's Origin of Species, it is not the most intelligent of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.  Applying this theoretical concept to us as individuals, we can state that the civilization that is able to survive is the one that is able to adapt to the changing physical, social, political, moral and spiritual environment in which it finds itself."

This thought has profound implications for where we find ourselves in the second decade of the 21st century and for how we approach the accelerating, confusing, changing environment in which we find ourselves.  It saddens and frightens me to watch individuals and institutions refuse to recognize that adapting to a changing world is paramount.

May we not, as individuals or institutions, retreat or attempt to hang-on to a world which no larger exists, or at best, in terms of change, is rapidly accelerating. Adaptation will take clear thought, strength, intellect, courage, and strong religious faith,  May we grasp the concept put forth by Charles Darwin and Professor Megginson on adaptation, and embrace Thomas Friedman's plea that we understand clearly the rapidly changing world in which we find ourselves. Only then do we have a chance to continue forward in a civilized, productive, moral, and spiritual manner.

 

King Day Rememberance

First pen goes to Martin Luther King as LBJ signs The Civil Rights Act of 1964, nearly 100 years after the Civil War ended. Dr. King was born 88 years ago today. I'm grateful my pastor read from Dr. King's last sermon, delivered Feb. 4, 1968, at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist in Atlanta, 'The Drum Major Instinct'. ....'Tell them not to mention my Nobel Peace Prize, my three or four hundred other awards. Just tell them to say I was a drum major....., a drum major for justice, a drum major for peace, a drum major for righteousness.....'.

Shot From Haley Confirmation Hearing for the UN

Son Rob, longtime aide (Deputy Chief of Staff / Director of Communications) to South Carolina Governor Haley, takes it in at Haley's confirmation hearing for US Ambassador to the United Nations.(To the left, behind speaker Senator Tim Scott, first African American senator from the South since Reconstruction, who is introducing her). Rob has had tremendous experiences and he is good at what he does.

A Good Night

A good night in Virginia Beach, January 18, 2017, with my older brother, age 77 (hard for me to too believe), and his son (incidentally, an All-ACC linebacker at Duke in the mid-1980s).

Eve of Destruction Revisited?

I just finished reading 'Eve of Destruction' by James Patterson which is about the transitional year of 1965. It is a great read.

 At the beginning of 1965, the U.S. seemed on the cusp of a golden age. President Johnson, who was an extraordinarily skillful manager of Congress, succeeded in securing an avalanche of Great Society legislation, including Medicare, immigration reform, and a powerful Voting Rights Act. But the sense of harmony dissipated over the course of the year. 1965 marked the birth of the tumultuous era we now know as "The Sixties," when American society and culture underwent a major transformation. 

Turmoil erupted in the American South early in 1965, as police attacked civil rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama. Many black leaders, outraged, began to lose faith in nonviolent and interracial strategies of protest. The U.S. rushed into a deadly war in Vietnam, inciting rebellion at home. Racial violence exploded in the Watts area of Los Angeles. The six days of looting and arson that followed shocked many Americans and cooled their enthusiasm for the president's remaining initiatives. As the national mood darkened, the country became deeply divided. By the end of 1965, the political scene was becoming redefined as developments in popular music were enlivening the Left.

The title of the book is taken from the Barry McGuire hit song "Eve of Destruction" released in 1965. The song captured the mood of much of the country. It became a controversial hit dividing America. The song was the first 'marriage' between rock music and protest. It signified that a mass movement among American youth 'was upon us', as Patterson expressed it.

After observing the Women's March on Washington (and in large and small cities around America and around the globe) for social justice, peace, and equality one day after the inauguration of Donald Trump, one cannot escape the parallels and similarities to the tumultuous, transitional, polarizing, uncertain times of today. Listen above to the 'classic'.