As Barack Obama dazzled Democrats at their Chicago convention on Tuesday night, he reminded them to keep their feet firmly on the ground.
We live in “a moment of great danger,” in which democracy must be “defended,” he said.
“Make no mistake: it will be a fight. For all the incredible energy we’ve been able to generate over the last few weeks, this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country.”
Obama expressed what we all feel — the division between Americans is sharp.
But one of the most intriguing questions about this 2024 Chicago DNC has the capacity to comfort Americans of every political persuasion — once you start to really explore it.
The question is this:
Will this be a repeat of Chicago 1968?
The answer is a hard “NO.”
Even if pro-Palestinian protesters were to penetrate the triple phalanx of Chicago police officers who surround today’s United Center and its festivities, this will never be 1968.
Because there are few years in American history that were as horrific as that year.
If you think the divisions we experience today are as bad as it gets in America, 1968 will end your delusion.
The agony of ‘68 really begins after World War II. In 1946, America was the most powerful and productive nation on earth.
We had led our allies to victory over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. American GDP and its standard of living soared.
All of that optimism found expression in rapidly rising birth rates. Between the years 1946 and 1964, the so-called Baby Boom would produce some 77 million new Americans.
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