Sixties Activists Tell Their Stories
May 1st, 2008
The core of Generation on Fire are fascinating stories told by various “veterans” of the sixties (in the US) to the author, Jeff Kisseloff, and put in written format. The parts that are actually the author’s words, which fortunately constitute only a minority of the work, are of much lower quality. The worst aspect is Kisseloff s nationalism/patriotism, which is ultimately essentialist and reifies nations.
Kisseloff s poorly supported nationalism jumps out right on the first page. He tries to portray rebellion as being an “American” quality by pointing out that the leaders of the U.S. war for independence were rebellious. This is problematic on multiple levels. First, it equates being “American” with the actions the independence leaders took without really giving a reason to make such an equation. The independence leaders also owned slaves, yet equating America with slavery would undermine the positive connotations he gives “America.” Second, those independence leaders also opposed rebellion in many other circumstances - such as resistance by their slaves, Shay’s uprising, the Alien & Sedition acts, and many other cases. One could just as easily say that not rebelling is an American quality by appealing to the same independence leaders. Third, rebellion is hardly something limited to America. Numerous other societies have experienced rebellions as well. Compared to other nations the U.S. actually has a history of less rebellion. Unlike most countries, the U.S. hasn’t had a revolution since 1776, and even 1776 was a very mild revolution.
Kisseloff asserts that the generation of the sixties compelled, “a reluctant nation to make good on its promise of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ for every citizen.” (p. 1) This statement reifies nations; it turns an abstract concept into a thing. Nations do not exist in any physical sense. They only exist in the minds of people who consider themselves part of a nation and the relationships they forge with other people. A nation is not a person or a thing capable of making promises. The notion there is an “America” capable of making promises and that it has promised life, liberty, etc. is, like other forms of nationalism, a mythology that serves to encourage national identity and national pride.
What’s worse is Kisseloff s statement that, “The search for a better life is what got America settled by Europeans.” (p. 225) His use of the term “settle” is very problematic because it takes the perspective of the conquerors. America was “settled” by Europeans in the same sense that Germany “settled” Poland in 1939. Furthermore, his statement drastically oversimplifies the variety of motives Europeans had for migrating to the New World. Some came because they were prisoners and were forced to come. Some migrated for religious reasons. Some migrated so they could steal native gold.
Aside from the numerous problems with Kisseloff s statements, the interviews he provides are quite interesting. The interview with Lee Weiner (The Revolutionary) is my favorite. Bernard Lafayette’s chapter (Freedom Rider) provides a good account of the civil rights movement in the early sixties and is an easy and entertaining read.
Happy Mayday!