This was a copy of a newspaper poster "Remembering Woodstock" that helped to inspire this blog entry.
When I was growing up, it felt like my parent's generation had engaged in some unbelievable levels of activism. Say what you will, I felt, but at least they were trying to actively make the world a better place, even if they went about it in admittedly unconventional ways.
One of those ways, of course, was Woodstock. It was originally simply supposed to be a music festival lasting three days.
Instead, it wound up being the major event which defined a generation. The music was brilliant. But the creativity went well beyond the stage. Indeed, that is part of what made this event immortal in the memory of our modern society.
Also, it symbolized the spirit of peace and togetherness which were critical for the counterculture of the time. Many people credit it with stopping the war in Vietnam, and it undeniably had an impact on public perceptions of the time.
However, it was not expected to stand out in any positive way. In fact, many people expected it to be a disaster. A lot of people - including many locals who lived in close proximity to where the concert took place at Bethel, New York, expressed disdain and skepticism towards the dirty hippies. Clearly, expectations for the concert were low.
Which is why it came as a such a pleasant surprise to them that, in fact, the concert proved to be a huge success. People acted astonished that the hippies seemed to be, in fact, peaceful, respectful, and orderly. In short, the event highlighted the very best of the idealism, the creativity, and the sense of togetherness and cooperation which the most idealistic of the youth culture at the time championed. It offered a glimpse of the better world that they were advocating.
Naturally, those who were in attendance that weekend have their stories. I have personally heard some of those stories. Some I heard on documentaries. A couple I heard during an event some years ago in at the 92nd Street Y, when they held an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. And I have a friend from college, a woman, who told me a bit about her own experiences when she and her then boyfriend attended the show.
Not having been born yet, of course I did not have the option to go. But I wonder if I would have tried to go to the show if I had been around, and of age, back then. For that matter, one cannot help but wonder what it would have been like back then, going to the show. Being at the show. Hell, being in the traffic jam both before and, presumably, after the show. how much do the people who actually attended still remember from that weekend?
Man, those were some different times. After decades of political apathy, we Americans thrust a political crisis upon ourselves in recent years. Now, everyone has political opinions, and there is a renewed political activism. But that came after decades of apathy helped to create the very grim political realities that we now have forced upon ourselves, as well as the rest of the world. As grim as the political situation might have been back in the days of Woodstock, with the Vietnam conflict still very much ongoing, with Richard Nixon in the White House, and with the Kennedy assassination and the lack of acceptance of the official account mixed with growing skepticism towards government officials regarding Vietnam, and with the Pentagon Papers and Watergate only a few years away, there was reason to protest. Yet, all of that feels like it pales in comparison with all of the crap that we seem to be enduring these days.
Anyway, Woodstock was one of the better memories that the Age of Aquarius produced. People still remember it. People still talk about those times, and about that music festival in particular. Clearly, that includes me.
Below is a link to another person's memories of Woodstock. It seemed appropriate to share it here today, on the anniversary of the actual end of the Woodstock Music Festival (remember, Jimi Hendrix closed it out on the morning of Monday, August 18, 1969).
Take a look and enjoy.
Memories of the 1969 Woodstock music festival Sat, 08/10/2019 - 8:45am BILL PEARSON
https://www.boothbayregister.com/article/memories-1969-woodstock-music-festival/122462
Memories of the 1969 Woodstock music festival | Boothbay Register
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