Young, puppyish, idealistic, Norwegian Berkely coed, eh?

Seriously, she got it right. The 60s was our Golden Age. I remember the 50s and they sucked, big time. And the world we see around us today, good or bad, is largely the result of the period of time bracketed by the election of JFK and the breakup of the Beatles.

If you live long enough, you tend to develop an intuition about how history is unfolding, one that can't be a result of mere education. The Depression/World War II era, the age of my parents, ended about 1960, and it was obvious to everyone it was over when JFK died. It was certainly obvious to their generation, they were as terrified with the change as their children embraced it. Since then, the Nixon, Reagan and Bush presidencies have just been speed bumps. Like it or not, the world has changed and there ain't no going back.

It's probably not just economic, political or cultural, I'm sure technology also plays a role. This period roughly coincides with the introduction and development of computer technology and instant, world-wide communications. But whatever the cause, there has been a phase shift in our culture, and it is going to have to play itself out before it morphs into something else. And one thing is certain, whatever comes next, it will be totally unexpected. It may also be ghastly.