1968: A Very Bad Very Good Year

by | Mar 11, 2018 | family, news, war | 26 comments

Nineteen sixty-eight is the new hot topic in the United States, not just because 2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of that year, but because for Americans, 1968 was a very bad year.

The Vietnam War was not going well. Every day forty-six Americans and many more Vietnamese died in Vietnam.

On January 30, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive.

In March, President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was worried we couldn’t win the war, announced he would not run for reelection.

On March 12, Richard Nixon won a decisive victory in the Republican primaries in New Hampshire.

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN, at the age of 39.

On June 5, Robert Kennedy was killed in Los Angeles at the age of 43.

In August, Chicago police ferociously attacked activists outside the Democratic Convention.

There’s more: North Korea captured the USS Pueblo; there was a terrible famine in Biafra; and, oh yes, Nixon was elected president.

My husband, Eugene, and I kept up with the news. Every night we saw disturbing images on TV. We cared.

And yet, when I think of 1968, the first thing that comes to mind is that it’s the year our first child was born. I look through my photo albums, and I find photo after photo showing that, for us, it was a great year.

Eugene and my dad (mostly my dad) built our first house.

The house went up fast. In May, we had the housewarming.

We prepared a room for the baby who would be born a few weeks later.

This is our first child, a girl.

Some of us feel as though 2017 was a very bad year and that 2018 could be just as bad or worse. And yet, on some future day when we look back at our photo albums and Facebook and Instagram photos, it may turn out looking like a pretty good year.

That’s not to say that we should stop caring about national and international events. But life goes on, and what we make of our own lives matters too.

Sometimes individual people can be caught in the middle of events, and sometimes those events are so large and so damaging that they affect all of us. The Second World War is one example.

But in the midst of difficult times, it’s comforting to look back and see how happy and fulfilling life can be even during periods that will be considered by history to be very bad years.

If you’re interested in more detailed descriptions of what happened in 1968, read:

Playing with Fire: the 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O’Donnell

LIFE 1968: The Year that Changed America

TIME 1968: The Year That Shaped a Generation

TIME Magazine, Dec. 25, Lessons for 2018 from One of America’s Most Tumultuous Years

26 Comments

  1. nrhatch

    The events of 1968 flew over my head (or under my radar) ~> I was in the 4th grade, enjoying a new school, a favorite teacher, and . . . the Creative Writing club! 😀

    Maintaining perspective and life balance is a skill worth mastering. Thanks for sharing your skilled perspective with us.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Wow! You started creative writing at an early age. Your early interest has served you well.

      Reply
  2. derrickjknight

    So much with which to identify here, Nicki. Jackie and I first married in March 1968 and our first child was born in that December

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      It sounds like 1968 was a very good year for you and Jackie too. This December you’ll be celebrating your 50th anniversary. That’s great!

      Reply
  3. Marta

    if we had to form an opinion based on the news, I think every year would be a very bad year… bad news get much more coverage than good news!

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      So true, Marta. With all the news now available, It’s easy to forget that.

      Reply
  4. Kate Crimmins

    You are right. It’s what’s in our day-to-day life that affects us most. Lovely photos.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Thank you, Kate. You’re the master of making day-to-day life funny and interesting.

      Reply
      • Kate Crimmins

        I refused to watch the news this past weekend. I wanted some peace and a break from stupid.

        Reply
        • Nicki Chen

          We all need an occasional break, especially a break from stupid.

          Reply
  5. francisguenette

    So well put in every way. It seems we need to keep this valuable perspective now more than ever. Many thanks for a great Sunday morning read and the pic of you, your husband and baby daughter is great.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Thank you, Francis. When we’re bombarded with news, it’s easy to forget that nothing makes the news unless it’s unusual. We tend to have more control over the usual circumstances of our lives in which we may have ups and downs but often have much to be thankful for.

      Reply
  6. Jill Weatherholt

    History is full of both good and bad. Maintaining hope for better days ahead helps to keep my mind in the right place. I really enjoyed reading this post, Nicki. I especially loved the photographs, particularly the last one.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Hope is an underappreciated virtue. When we hope for better days, we may not have any proof that things will improve. But, as you said, we need hope to keep our minds in the right place so we can keep on going. Despair doesn’t get anyone anywhere.

      Reply
  7. Mabel Kwong

    As L. Marie said, an insightful post. Some moments will be better than others, other moments more challenging and some moments we might want to forget altogether. But as you said, life goes on. Usually there are moments in between that we enjoy, moments that are short but really simple. 2017 was okay for me, and 2018 is going okay. Sure there are things l prefer to forget like getting sick and not making much writing progress but overall I made so many memories.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      I’m glad you made some good memories, Mabel. You certainly had some great photos to share about your enjoyable and memorable moments. There’s nothing good about getting sick, though. I hope you’ll have a healthy and happy 2018. And some good writing progress. Sometimes with writing, it’s two steps forward and one step backward. But persistence pays off.

      Reply
  8. L. Marie

    Such an insightful post. Some years can seem so horrible, particularly on a national level. But just think–a year later we had the first man on the moon. Other great things happened.

    How lovely to see your photos and the wonderful events of your life. My sister-in-law was born that year too.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      If you look up a list of what happened in a given year, it will usually look bad I think because the good things happen slowly and in individual lives. The exception is scientific achievements.

      Steven Pinker has come out with a new book, Enlightenment Now. In an interview today in the Seattle Times, the reviewer, Mary Ann Gwinn, says that Pinker “documents, in granular detail, that by many measures the human race is better off than ever before: massive improvements in health, standard of living, literacy, longevity.” I think it’s not so obvious to us because the change is slow and because many of the improvements have happened in developing country. Globalization, for example, has been great for the world’s poor, not as good for the American lower middle class. Maybe I should read his book.

      Reply
  9. Lani

    By the way, love your personal pics 🙂

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Thanks, Lani. I’m making a mess out of my photo albums, ripping them out and scanning them.

      Reply
  10. Lani

    Very good point. When I look back at 2017, I think about my last year in Cambodia. I think about some real crazy stuff too, especially towards the end, but most folks will remember their personal lives, not what happened in the news.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      We were abroad during Watergate, so the news didn’t have the same effect on us as it might have had if we’d been in the US. Now, being back in the US, the news is all around us. It can take over your mind. I hear people talking about news-induced depression, especially regarding Trump. Other people say they can’t bear to read or watch the news, so they impose on themselves a news blackout. Maybe I’m being unrealistic, but I think that for most of us, it’s possible to take a balanced approach. If I were a Dreamer, here without a visa, I’m sure I wouldn’t be this calm. But for most of us, we can live and enjoy our lives while at the same time being alert and aware of what’s happening.

      Reply
      • Lani

        It’s funny when I had to contact my bank before heading back to the US, I did get into a conversation with a woman who said she’s tuned out now. Another friend said he moved out here because he was sick of the politics, etc.

        Despite what’s going on in the US, it’s very possible to completely have no idea what’s going on and enjoy life there. That’s the kind of bubble the US is in that other countries don’t enjoy.

        That being said, yes, there can be a balance. I think it has to start with the individual in their mind. And critically thinking through the news to keep that balanced and wider perspective.

        Reply
        • Nicki Chen

          I agree. You don’t have to move halfway around the world to avoid being overcome by the news. It’s a question of choosing your own thoughts and reactions to the news. Critical thinking is crucial for bringing perspective and balance to our lives.

          Reply
          • Lani

            Absolutely.

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