‘68 Letdown
What a gigantic disappointment the special 1968 issue, “Year of Global Insurrection” [Aug. 27/Sept. 3], must be for anyone who was actually alive and aware in ‘68 and expected a comprehensive and progressive history of that year—a year to be remembered not only for the male-founded-and-operated Students for a Democratic Society, the male-dominated anti–Vietnam War movement, the protests in Paris and Mexico, and the trial of eight radical men in Chicago. So much more was happening that year.
In 1968, the Jeannette Rankin Brigade, the Miss America protest, and other female-organized actions demonstrated that feminism had taken a bold new turn. Feminist leaders were on the cover of every magazine; women’s consciousness-raising groups were meeting in living rooms around the country; and, two years later, 50,000 women would march down Fifth Avenue, spearheading a movement that fought for the rights of half the population and would eventually affect the entire world for the better. At the same time, the civil-rights, gay-rights, and environmental movements were coming into full maturity. Stonewall happened the following year and Earth Day the year after that.
Do those defining social movements not deserve historical coverage, even a sidebar? And what about the art for the issue? Flip through the photos and you’ll find a total of 46 men and seven women. The ratio in the leadership photos is even worse.
“Global Insurrection,” indeed. Perhaps a sequel is in order.
Mark Dowie
point reyes station, calif.
A Hopeful Issue
I often don’t read The Nation because political bad news increases my deep mourning for our nation and the world, not to mention my skepticism about possible remedies. The August 13/20 issue, however, has two articles that stand out to me for their positivity. I am talking about Michael Massing’s “Journalism in the Age of Trump,” which displayed courage in calling out the media for disparaging those who voted for the current president, thereby emphasizing that the country is splitting up into factions and excusing themselves “from the hard work of analyzing and explaining the…nature of Trump’s populism.” And I am talking about Sasha Abramksy’s “A Green New Deal in the Evergreen State,” which demonstrated hope in describing the plan developed in Washington State to use funds from polluters to help those who are poor and who often suffer most from the pollution. Brilliant. I deeply appreciate these articles.
Anne Hanson
florida, n.y.
The Bankruptcy of Tax Cuts
Nice piece by Bryce Covert [“Red-State Rumblings,” July 30/Aug. 6] on the failure of conservative tax cuts to produce the results promised by supply-side economist Arthur Laffer, the Koch brothers, and the American Legislative Exchange Council. They have done us a favor by proving the bankruptcy of their simplistic economic propaganda.
Wendell Fitzgerald
ashland, ore.
