The Civil Rights movement helped spawn a wave of demands for equality and a greater voice in politics from a number of groups in society. College youth formed groups like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to express their discontent with the war in Vietnam and what seemed to them to be official misinformation about that war. Feminists wanted greater access to jobs and security for women. Hispanics, Native American Indians, and Gay and Lesbian groups also made their voices heard. In general, American society was becoming more inclusive although there were still glitches and gaps.
*Some of you may have lived this history, whereas others may be having a hard time imagining what life was like during the 1960s and the 1970s. Click below to see what you might have been like had you lived during that time.*
[[Begin Activity]]
You're seventeen years old... with a lot of heavy life decisions ahead. What path will you take into your future? Will you become a pillar of society? A rifle-toting radical? Or something in between?
(link: "Continue")[
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question1a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question1b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question1c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question1d")]
]
(set: $count to 0)
(set: $randomNumber to (random: 1, 4) )
(set: $goingWest to 0)
(set: $collectivePower to 0)
(set: $Firemen to 0)
(set: $educatePrisoners to 0)
(set: $Job to 0)
(set: $nixonCampaign to 0)
Your cousin Lily is thinking of dropping out of college. She says she's met a transcendental meditation expert who has opened her mind "beyond the scope of state-run education."
What do you think she should do?
(link: "a. stay in school")[(set: $count to $count + 2)(goto: "Question2")]
(link: "b. pursue her meditation")[(set: $count to $count - 2)(goto: "Question2")]
It's June, 1967. You graduate near the top of your high school class. Your parents are hoping you'll take a scholarship to a prestigious New England college, but your friend Allison can't stop talking about "escaping" to the freedom of California. "It's time for our generation," she tells you.
Where will you go?
(link: "a. head east to college")[
(set: $count to $count + 3)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question3a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question3b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question3c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question3d")]
]
(link: "b. set your sights on the West coast")[
(set: $count to $count - 3)
(set: $goingWest to 1)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question3a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question3b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question3c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question3d")]
]
Your grandmother has invited the whole family for Thanksgiving dinner. Your sister says she plans to make a scene and protest the butchering of an innocent, overfed bird. "It's a sick manifestation of our disgusting capitalist society," she rants.
What do you do?
(link: "a. let her speak her mind")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $goingWest is 1)[(goto: "Question4b")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question4a")]
]
(link: "b. counsel her to keep quiet")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $goingWest is 1)[(goto: "Question4b")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question4a")]
]
Your time in college has not insulated you from your peers' unrest. Student anti-war activists occupy the college library for five days, demanding that your school ban defense contractors from recruiting on campus. And some kids start burning their draft cards. The school administration takes a hard line, calling in police to forcibly remove the protesters. Some are injured, leaving bloodstains on the library steps. The school expels most of the students for the disruption.
What do you do?
(link: "a. transfer to a school where student opinions are better respected")[
(set: $count to $count - 3)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question5a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question5b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question5c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question5d")]
]
(link: "b. keep hitting the books, and mind your own business")[(set: $count to $count + 3)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question5a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question5b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question5c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question5d")]
]
You notice a flyer announcing a protest in support of migrant farm workers at the local supermarket. But you have an important job interview downtown at the same time.
Where do you go?
(link: "a. the protest")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $collectivePower is 1)[(goto: "Question6a")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question6b")]
]
(link: "b. the job interview")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $collectivePower is 1)[(goto: "Question6a")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question6b")]
]
Your Collective Power family really tells it like it is. The group's leader, who says he did time as a "political prisoner" in California's "racist" prison system, anoints you "K," in honor of Karl Marx. You search your soul for ways to oppose America's social and military policies and the nation's leadership. You've got a jones to channel that Sixties energy and do something righteous -- before the country really goes down the tubes.
What's your next step?
(link: "a. join a radical activist group, The Firemen, that asserts it will change the system")[
(set: $count to $count - 3)
(set: $Firemen to 1)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question7a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question7b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question7c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question7d")]
]
(link: "b. sign up for an outreach program to help educate prisoners in the state penal system -- and put theory into practice")[
(set: $count to $count + 3)
(set: $educatePrisoners to 1)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question7a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question7b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question7c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question7d")]
]
Teaching at the state prison has had quite an effect on you. Your contacts there have turned you on to the hard truth -- the capitalist system is stacked against poor people, and it's the mostly white, middle and upper classes who reap the benefits. What can you do, though? You're still searching for direction (and broke, besides).
What do you do?
(link: "a. stick to your principles -- it's important to stay politically active if you want to see things change")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(goto: "Result")]
(link: "b. start looking out for yourself first, and your causes second")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(goto: "Result")]
You run into Jacko, a guy who was one of the big activist ringleaders at your university.You almost don't recognize him without his long hair and beard, and you find out he now goes by the name John. "The Sixties are dead," he says, "It's naive to think that marching in the streets will really make a difference."
Do you:
(link: "a. agree")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $Firemen is 1)[(goto: "Question8d")]
(if: $Job is 1)[(goto: "Question8c")]
(if: $nixonCampaign is 1)[(goto: "Question8b")]
(if: $educatePrisoners is 1)[(goto: "Question8a")]
]
(link: "b. disagree")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $Firemen is 1)[(goto: "Question8d")]
(if: $Job is 1)[(goto: "Question8c")]
(if: $nixonCampaign is 1)[(goto: "Question8b")]
(if: $educatePrisoners is 1)[(goto: "Question8a")]
]
(if: $count > 15)[**Oblivious Overreacher**
Nixon really let everyone down. At first, you thought you'd landed on your feet, with a new job in a new town. You paid cash for a beautiful house in an exclusive suburb, and the taint of political scandal seemed to be fading into the past. But your spouse, who never could take the pressures of politics, went on a bender, publicly denounced you, and moved out. Then, the same day you were served with divorce papers, your lawyer told you the I.R.S. was busting you for tax evasion. Now, you've got a lot of time to think about how things went wrong: you're defeated, worn out, and stuck behind bars.]
(if: $count > 8 and $count < 16)[**Corporate Climber**
You got a big promotion -- just in time for your wedding! You splurge by buying your sweetie a brand new, bright red Cadillac El Dorado convertible. Now that's the ride for the hottest young couple in town! You're on the ladder to success. You finally feel secure, and better about the country's future. The war and the bitterness still resonate for some people, but they'll pass with time. Anyway, you're less concerned with some people's hangups over social realities than in getting a share of life's finer things. If being part of "the System" means putting your family and your well-being first, that's fine by you.]
(if: $count > 5 and $count < 9)[**Prioritizing Pragmatist**
Measured in money, work is fine. You embrace responsibilities and routine at the office and at home with your new spouse. Together, you're building a vision for the future that includes kids, a comfortable life, a big annual vacation, maybe even a second home in the mountains or by the sea, if you can save enough dough. When you read headlines about social activists, you shake your head at their misguided energy. For the first time you feel a distance from those people who said they'd never trust anyone over 30. After all, your 30th birthday is not so far off!]
(if: $count > -1 and $count < 6)[**Community Cornerstone**
You reap the benefits of a settled routine, including a steady job, a loving spouse, and your own home. Though your new family starts to take priority in your life, you stay in touch with activist friends and support their work in the community -- your own community. You believe that earnest efforts to improve society will always be worthwhile, even if your own involvement these days is in the form of encouragement and donations.]
(if: $count > -5 and $count < 0)[**High-School Teacher**
Who would have thought you'd end up in your home town, teaching at your high school and engaged to a former sweetheart? Your path has taught you the power of education and expressing what you believe -- a lesson you pass on to your students. While their fashion sense might be a little off, their minds are working just fine as they debate current events. Even if some of the kids say reactionary things at times, you feel you are making a difference by helping them keep their eyes and their minds open.]
(if: $count > -15 and $count < -4)[**Authoritative Activist**
You continue to speak out for what you believe is right, as part of a left-wing social justice organization. You've found a life partner who is a kindred spirit. The whole Nixon debacle affirms that the political system is corrupt, and you find yourself saying, "I told you so" to all those who doubted your earlier criticisms. Maybe now that Vietnam is in the past, the country can evolve -- you are committed to working for change through peaceful means. The Sixties might be dead, but the spirit of activism keeps on truckin' in the Seventies.]
(if: $count < -14)[**Rifle-Toting Revolutionary**
You join the Firemen in a brazen attack on City Hall, but your black-market weapons jam up. You break your wrist in the fracas and choke down tear gas. The cops throw you in the slammer. Now, you've got a lot of time to think about how things went wrong: you're defeated, worn out, and stuck behind bars.]
[[Play Again->Begin Activity]]
Your friend Steve enlists in the Marines. "I'm ready," he declares. "It's my patriotic duty to fight Communism."
Do you agree with him?
(link: "a. yes")[(set: $count to $count + 2)(goto: "Question2")]
(link: "b. no")[(set: $count to $count - 2)(goto: "Question2")]
Uncle Sam drafts your cousin Tom to fight in Vietnam. Your brother thinks Tom should refuse and flee to Canada, but your mom says Tom shouldn't break the law.
Who's right?
(link: "a. your brother")[(set: $count to $count - 2)(goto: "Question2")]
(link: "b. your mom")[(set: $count to $count + 2)(goto: "Question2")]
You and most of your friends have been growing your hair long. Your father hates it, and tells you to cut it. "Do you think you're a hippie ?" he yells.
(link: "a. cut your hair")[
(set: $count to $count + 1)
(goto: "Question2")]
(link: "b. let your long locks flow")[
(set: $count to $count - 1)
(goto: "Question2")]
All you and your friends can talk about are the assassinations, bad war news, and social discord of 1968. Your pal Dan tells you that he's convinced the country is heading into dark times and that the only way to respond to the violence sanctioned by "The Establishment" is with violent action.
Do you:
(link: "a. agree with Dan")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $goingWest is 1)[(goto: "Question4b")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question4a")]
]
(link: "b. disagree")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $goingWest is 1)[(goto: "Question4b")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question4a")]
]
Your friend Ellen keeps telling you about "the Movement" to combat social injustices. She invites you to attend a prisoners' rights rally. In the past, these events have led to conflicts with the police, and Ellen warns that you might be arrested.
What do you do?
(link: "a. join Ellen at the rally")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $goingWest is 1)[(goto: "Question4b")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question4a")]
]
(link: "b. stay home, and avoid getting a police record")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $goingWest is 1)[(goto: "Question4b")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question4a")]
]
Your parents drive out to see you and deliver some hard news: your cousin Tom was killed in combat. In tears, your father tells you that he now thinks the Vietnam War is a mistake and that the U.S. should pull out.
(link: "a. agree with your father")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $goingWest is 1)[(goto: "Question4b")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question4a")]
]
(link: "b. disagree")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $goingWest is 1)[(goto: "Question4b")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question4a")]
]
California's where it's at -- you're making the scene in Haight Ashbury and across the bay in Berkeley. Still, your mind may be free, but your rent isn't! Struggling to score some bread doing odd jobs, you realize how good you had it with full room and board back home. Your parents call to say that they're worried about your lack of direction. At least you're open enough to see different directions, you retort, as opposed to coasting along in their system. Meanwhile, your stomach grumbles for something more than beans.
What's your next move?
(link: "a. move in to a commune with friends from a counterculture group called Collective Power")[
(set: $count to $count - 3)
(set: $collectivePower to 1)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question5a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question5b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question5c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question5d")]]
(link: "b. enroll in the local university -- you can probably make up lost time with some summer classes")[
(set: $count to $count + 3)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question5a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question5b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question5c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question5d")]
]
The president is traveling to your town. You get wind of a massive human blockade that radicals are planning at the airport in protest of government policies.
What do you do?
(link: "a. tell the authorities about this potentially dangerous situation")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $collectivePower is 1)[(goto: "Question6a")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question6b")]
]
(link: "b. let events play out")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $collectivePower is 1)[(goto: "Question6a")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question6b")]
]
Your friend Sam returns from his Vietnam tour of duty and starts a veterans' activist group. He tells you that he still considers himself a patriotic American but that the government has lied to everyone and continued an unnecessary, bloody war.
Do you:
(link: "a. agree")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $collectivePower is 1)[(goto: "Question6a")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question6b")]
]
(link: "b. disagree")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $collectivePower is 1)[(goto: "Question6a")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question6b")]
]
Your mother has found you a tuxedo to wear to your cousin's wedding and you've purchased a white tuxedo shirt, as instructed. Your friend Eddie, who has a lot more style than you, says he could make the shirt stand out with some tie-dye.
Do you let him do it?
(link: "a. yes")[
(set: $count to $count - 1)
(if: $collectivePower is 1)[(goto: "Question6a")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question6b")]
]
(link: "b. no")[
(set: $count to $count + 1)
(if: $collectivePower is 1)[(goto: "Question6a")]
(else:)[(goto: "Question6b")]
]
Despite the ongoing circus of protests, you graduate from college. As class president, you praise the school during your commencement speech for its strong leadership. Looking to the future, a friend of the family can open the door to a great entry-level job. On the other hand, your student government experience could help you in the political realm...
What's your move?
(link: "a. work those connections to score a sweet job")[
(set: $count to $count - 3)
(set: $Job to 1)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question7a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question7b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question7c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question7d")]
]
(link: "b. volunteer for a political action group to re-elect President Nixon, opening your own political path")[
(set: $count to $count + 3)
(set: $nixonCampaign to 1)
(if: $randomNumber is 1)[(goto: "Question7a")]
(if: $randomNumber is 2)[(goto: "Question7b")]
(if: $randomNumber is 3)[(goto: "Question7c")]
(if: $randomNumber is 4)[(goto: "Question7d")]
]
Your job, at a financial office downtown, pays well. But you're starting to feel out of step; your generation is still angry. The government finally acknowledges the U.S. should end an unwinnable war. An oil crisis is brewing at the same time inflation is eating up your paycheck. And Nixon's unseemly activities have caused even his supporters to throw up their hands. You start to appreciate why so many of your peers have felt alienated from the nation's direction. And you're not doing anything to make a difference. Could it be time to rethink your path?
What do you do?
(link: "a. look for a new job that makes you feel more involved")[(set: $count to $count - 2)
(goto: "Result")]
(link: "b. don't rock the boat -- great opportunities lie ahead (and your sweetie has hinted about wedding bells)")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(goto: "Result")]
Your work on the Nixon campaign pays off -- for you and the president. The campaign manager hints he can get you a political job in Washington. It's easy to be a critic, but hard to do something productive, like make the system work from the inside instead of trying to tear it down. Meanwhile, you're engaged to be married -- but your future spouse is unsure about the political life.
What's your move?
(link: "a. look for work that isn't so political")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(goto: "Result")
]
(link: "b. seize your chance and head to Washington")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(goto: "Result")
]
The Firemen begin to make headlines with "blows for justice" against the Establishment -- bombings and attacks, most ending in fires. The newspapers say you're terrorists, but they don't seem to complain about their increased circulation. Besides, you make sure there are never any people in the buildings you target. You watch some inspiring films of Latin American revolutionaries and your leader proclaims that it's time to go after the "fascist pigs" standing in the way of justice. Weapons training begins next week.
What do you do?
(link: "a. take up arms with the Firemen")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(goto: "Result")]
(link: "b. quietly make plans to leave the group; problems with the System, not people, are your targets")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(goto: "Result")]
You take your six year-old nephew trick-or-treating on Halloween. Your friend Carol comes along, and pulls out a "Tricky Dick" Nixon mask that she wants your nephew to wear as a gag, instead of his Fred Flintstone one.
Do you:
(link: "a. tell Carol to put the Nixon mask away")[
(set: $count to $count + 1)
(if: $Firemen is 1)[(goto: "Question8d")]
(if: $Job is 1)[(goto: "Question8c")]
(if: $nixonCampaign is 1)[(goto: "Question8b")]
(if: $educatePrisoners is 1)[(goto: "Question8a")]
]
(link: "b. ask your nephew if he wants to wear it")[
(set: $count to $count - 1)
(if: $Firemen is 1)[(goto: "Question8d")]
(if: $Job is 1)[(goto: "Question8c")]
(if: $nixonCampaign is 1)[(goto: "Question8b")]
(if: $educatePrisoners is 1)[(goto: "Question8a")]
]
You bump into an old friend, Peggy, on the street. She's been working for the state government since high school. As a group of anti-war protesters passes by, she shakes her head. "It's time for all of these freaks to be hauled off the streets," she says. "They're only making things worse."
Do you:
(link: "a. agree")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $Firemen is 1)[(goto: "Question8d")]
(if: $Job is 1)[(goto: "Question8c")]
(if: $nixonCampaign is 1)[(goto: "Question8b")]
(if: $educatePrisoners is 1)[(goto: "Question8a")]
]
(link: "b. disagree")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $Firemen is 1)[(goto: "Question8d")]
(if: $Job is 1)[(goto: "Question8c")]
(if: $nixonCampaign is 1)[(goto: "Question8b")]
(if: $educatePrisoners is 1)[(goto: "Question8a")]
]
Your father complains that he's dissatisfied with the nation's leadership and that Watergate is the last straw. He says it's time for Nixon to resign.
Do you:
(link: "a. agree")[
(set: $count to $count - 2)
(if: $Firemen is 1)[(goto: "Question8d")]
(if: $Job is 1)[(goto: "Question8c")]
(if: $nixonCampaign is 1)[(goto: "Question8b")]
(if: $educatePrisoners is 1)[(goto: "Question8a")]
]
(link: "b. disagree")[
(set: $count to $count + 2)
(if: $Firemen is 1)[(goto: "Question8d")]
(if: $Job is 1)[(goto: "Question8c")]
(if: $nixonCampaign is 1)[(goto: "Question8b")]
(if: $educatePrisoners is 1)[(goto: "Question8a")]
]