Monday, June 1, 2020

May We Be Forever Young

This malaise we are feeling now must be how our parents and grandparents felt during the late 60s. Back when the assassination of Martin Luther King and then Robert F. Kennedy led to the long hot summer of 1967 that saw race riots break out across America. Fires of raged in over 100  U.S. cities that year.

Understanding Detroit's 1967 Upheaval 50 Years Later | History ...Fire during the 1967 race riot in Detroit

Then came the long hot summer of 1968. Anti-war factions showed up at the Democrat Convention that year, some to peacefully demonstrate and support Eugene McCarthy’s candidacy,

others to simply create discord and mayhem

50 Years Ago: Antiwar Protesters Brutally Attacked in Police Riots ...

with frequently bloody results. Mayor Daley was criticized by the media for using “Gestapo like” tactics against demonstrators, hence we seldom see that type of police response anymore. As youths, we assumed it was an organic protest, sprouted from rage over the Vietnam which was taking so many of our young men. Our elders simply shook their heads in sadness and wondered what the hell happened to America.

Then there was 1968-69, which saw the great Hong Kong Flu pandemic descend on America and the world.

Forgotten Pandemic Offers Contrast to Today's Coronavirus ...

Of course we didn’t shut down the entire economy that time because Donald Trump wasn’t President, and no power base was at stake.

Andrew Cuomo on Twitter: "Holding a briefing with updates on ...

Fifty plus years on and we watch as history replays itself in spades. And dear Lord help us, as the earth will always be filled with saboteurs, extremists, agent provocateurs and useful idiots.  While some of us grew older and wiser, others simply grew older. And alas, the world will always be forever young.

May God bless and keep you always.
May your wishes all come true.
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.

May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
And may you stay
Forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous.
May you grow up to be true.
May you always know the truth
And see the light surrounding you.

May you always be courageous,
Stand upright, and be strong
And may you stay
Forever young.

Forever young.
Forever young.
May you stay
Forever young.

May your hands always be busy.
May your feet always be swift.
May you have a strong foundation
When the winter changes shift.

May your heart always be joyful.
May your song always be sung
And may you stay
Forever young.