A couple of days ago I played the old song “American Pie”

It was a song about the day Buddy Holly died along with two others: Richie Valens and The Big Bopper.  The reality is it is about more than that by chance or providence.

February 1959 was in a different time – that is true.

But for it’s time society had their serious problems and set backs as we do today.  How do I know?  I lived it from day to day like many of you. The experiences of the time served to shape my view of the world.  I hear some say it would be nice to return to a simpler time.  Think again, there is no such place as a simpler time. 

We can remember we can learn from the past but there is no magic wand that will turn back time. To understand the positives and negatives of the era let me paint you a picture of what was happening in the late fifties.

We were mired in the Cold War.  Society was witnessing the dawning of a new post war generation and James Dean was the poster boy for what was to come.  That tragic night bore witness to the death of innocence as it was dubbed.

It was reflected on the screen at the movies and in music. Society came a long way from Gone With The Wind in 1939 when Clark Gable uttered a swear word saying –  “Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.”  

The response was how shocking.

Then again there was shock and dismay at song lyrics in 1959.

It is only fitting that the age of innocence ended with a song with a so called swear word in it.  The Battle Of New Orleans.  In the original version the lyrics were “We caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans”   Aghast the censors had the words ‘blooming’ British in the re-recording.  Even into 1961 when Jimmy Dean recorded Big Bad John the controversy demanded the lyric change from at the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man to the ending  “At the bottom of this mine lies a big big man.”

The post war era produced a boom not seen since the roaring twenties.  The young people then, us now, were beginning to assert their influence and they were questioning the societies belief system.  Racial discrimination was mainstream.  While the freedom marches were on in the southern United States, there were those considered unlikely white supporter of the anti racist movement the most prominent was Frank Sinatra, in Las Vegas, when he stood up for Sammy Davis Jr.

In Canada we had a number of targets for overt racism.  Indigenous Canadians, Ukrainian Immigrants, to name a couple.  There were the same fringe groups wanting to ban books and burn rock and roll records. And doing their best to stop the inevitable, that being change.  On what today we would call the progressive side of thing, the voices of discontent were announcing a new era addressing the issues of  everything from racism to the American military draft system, a movement that would morph into an anti war crusade.

The truth is peace destroyed the common tranquility of society as seen through the eyes of the establishment.  Then again the people had trust in their leadership and the  saying  “Majority Rules”

The problem is the rest of the definition of democracy gets lost, the second part is  “But the will of the minority must be respected.”  We have forgotten about that.

We learned a lot about ourselves from that cold night in 1959.  We learned that life moves on and the saying is true ‘once gone we can never go home again’.  

Imagine if there was that imaginary simpler time.  How many would be on the bus back?  If the truth were known –  people are not prepared to give up their cell phone, the internet or other modern conveniences to go back to a simpler time.  Actually most would find the trip back very uncomfortable. 

Those talking about rights and freedoms would be surprised to find individual rights preached and practiced were two different things.  Vaccines were accepted without question, and bad behavior was not championed.  Etiquette dictated social norms from not wearing white after Labour Day –  down to, you wouldn’t even think of sitting at the table with a hat on.  

The only way we are going to move on to better times and end polarization is to change our attitude within ourselves.  In the fifties ans sixties society was about hope and promise.

It appears to me the more information we have access to –  the less informed we are.  Even though there was spirited debate and differences of opinion there was civility.

 The only crowning achievement for the future will be – no one will want to return to our time as their simpler time if we continue down the path we are on. 

As an optimist I still believe in hope and promise.

 

Fred Steele