Welcome to the year 2026. A New Year brings a new beginning, a beginning that has so many possibilities. Of course, it depends on us if we are going to take those possibilities. Sometimes we have to look backwards so that we can look forwards. Why? Because we can then see our mistakes, our missed opportunities, and we can analyze what worked and what didn’t work, what we should continue doing and what we need to stop doing. Let’s look at what life was like in the year 1966.The first artificial heart was transplanted in Texas. The first ATM machine was introduced. John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus. “The Grinch that Stole Christmas” made its debut. Batman was now on TV and Star Trek made its premiere. Sixty years ago, we find that the Vietnam War escalated and more troops were sent in. This brought about the escalation of protesters who were against the war. There were racial protests, along with so many other protests. How about the “Acid Test” in San Francisco? Maybe you have never heard of it. It was a gathering for all those Hippies to come together. It featured psychedelic lights and sounds brought on by LSD. People danced to the music of the Grateful Dead and those gatherings also escalated till they had the “Acid Test Graduation.” And sad, as usual, 14 people were shot dead from the tower at the University of Texas Austin.
With all that, music had its say. During the Sixties there was a category of music sung by Folk Singers, some were ballots, some that turned slightly into what was called Folk Rock, but their songs were about the times. It was like reading a newspaper, it was written down and sung for all to hear and remember. It was far different than today’s Rappers. There were many groups in the Sixties like Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell and so many more. All of them singing about the war and civil rights, and every injustice or even historical events like the song about the “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” sung by Gordon Lightfoot. Here is just one example. A group called Buffalo Springfield sang this famous song: “For What It’s Worth.”
There’s battle lines being drawn, Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.
Young people speaking their minds, getting so much resistance from behind.
What a field day for the heat, a thousand people in the street.
Singing songs and they carrying signs, mostly say, “Hooray for our side.”
It seems like not too much has changed over the last sixty years. So as we look back we must ask ourselves, “Did all of this really change the world?” The Hippies of the sixties are the businessmen and women of today. They are our teachers and professors, our senators and congress people. They sang out their resistance, they protested their beliefs, they did their drugs to get them through, but did any of that do anything to change the world? Today they still resist, they still have their rally cries and yet, the world still does not change. So what is the answer?
Bob Dylan sang this song called“Blowin’ In The Wind.” Here are a few lines
Yes, and how many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows that too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind. The answer is blowin’ in the wind.” It seems that the wind is blowing, but who can catch it? We have to look backwards to look forward. This year we will celebrate 250 years of this country and we may say YEA! And look at what mistakes we have made. Yes, you have to ask yourself, what you have done for this country. The answer to our problems are not solved by resistance or protesting, or even singing about it. The answer is in you and I. We must do our part in reaching out to the poor, the needy, the helpless. We must be an asset to society. We must do our part in this world and its needs. It’s not political, it is not racial, the answer is not in social programs. The answer is in you and I. I see a need, and I do my part in relieving that need. If we all did our part, if we all used our energy and put it to good use, we would solve our problems. Remember this, those who sang about it made themselves very wealthy, but nothing was changed because of them. You see someone who’s house is run down, then gather your friends and cut the grass, maybe paint the house, do what needs to be done. We have many groups for kids and teens and even young adults. Let’s stop talking and put action to our words, to our signs, and the time that is wasted in protesting, we could be solving so many people’s problems. Let’s learn from the past. Let’s begin to put action to what we believe. We do not
need the government. We do not need any social organization, what we need is for us to believe in what we believe, and go out and solve those problems ourselves. Let’s be a generation of people who are solvers and not complainers. Let’s put our feet to action and that action is not carrying a picket sign. Let’s say, NO! to those who want to pay us for resisting. They too, could put that money to good use. Let’s show them that doing good for one another is better than just talking about it or protesting about it. And let’s be loud and clear that being paid to resist or protest is really an insult to what we believe. Let history record that this generation is not like the past, we are people who take what we believe in and do something positive about it. Then we will see that there will be no more helpless people, and the prejudices will be no more, and we will no longer be led by people who have their own agenda. Let’s look to the past to see the future, so when other generations look back to today, they will see that a real revolution took place, and it was this generation who brought it about for good for all around them. Hope you have a very productive year meeting the needs of people one life at a time.
