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Blog Post 11/4

As described in Zinn’s chapter “The Seventies: Under Control?,” the decade had its fair share of controversies. The decade began with extreme hostility towards the government and the violence it had created. The Watergate Scandal did not help. Burglars linked to Nixon’s reelection campaign raided Democratic National Committee offices in theWatergate apartment complex. This prompted many government officials to speak out against Nixon and reveal more of his crimes, which included taking illegal bribes and plotting a secret attack on the southeastern Asian country of Cambodia. Ford, who took over after Nixon resigned, was not much of an improvement. The Mayaguez Affair and investigations into CIA plots did not restore the trust of the public.
The 1970s were a mess. People living through 2020 can probably relate to the emotions of those who lived through the 1970s. The government is a mess no matter who wins the election, we are suffering from a global pandemic that has killed both people and the economy, there are murder hornets and aliens, and Poland accidentally invaded the Czech Republic this past summer. We overcome crazy occurrences all the time. Despite how many may feel, the world is not, in fact, ending. We will get through it.

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6 Comments

  1. Margot Roussel Margot Roussel

    I agree with you that both present day and the 70s were filled with monumental events and protests. However, I am wondering what the present day will be summarized down to, like the 70s is whittled down to hippes, Vietnam, and watergate. I wonder what the short synopsis will be for 2020 and how they will explain the political unrest at this time.

  2. Julia Borger Julia Borger

    I agree with your point that the government is a mess no matter what, as there will always be controversies and conflicts that leave one side/group feeling excluded and ignored, because our country is so divided. I wonder if there will be an event in the future that brings our nation together under common beliefs, or if we will always have to be such a disparate nation.

  3. Charley Blount Charley Blount

    The CIA’s involvement in the politics of foreign nations never should have been made public. News of CIA meddling in foreign elections resulted in a distrust of the American government that is counterproductive to the foreign interests of the United States. While it is important to hold the government accountable, it is far more important to allow the government to serve the people, which becomes difficult to do with the strenuous congressional oversight of the Church Committee.

  4. Christina Glynn Christina Glynn

    I agree that the government is a mess no matter what. This shows the correlation between the 1970s and 2020. I am curious to see how the future is going to change because of the impact of this year.

  5. Delaney Demaret Delaney Demaret

    While I agree that we often face contentious times as a nation, that is no reason not to fight back against certain injustices. I think we, as a nation, can do a better job separating inevitable calamities from crises that can be prevented and/or stopped. The world feels bad right now, but it doesn’t have to be if we find the root causes and fix them.

  6. Carly Cohen Carly Cohen

    I too see a lot of correlations between the 70s and present day America. A lot of people are upset with the government and protests and rallies are more prevalent than as long as I can remember. I am interested in what will be remembered about this time period and recorded in history books.

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