Golden Years to Days of Hope and Rage: The Fifties and Sixties

Was it the best of times, or the worst? The 2-decade span of the 1950s and the 1960s evokes powerful sentiments from both sides of the American cultural-political spectrum. Nostalgia (historical myopia) often draws those on the right toward the Fifties and those on the left toward the Sixties. But why?

We must note, of course, that the division of history and culture into ten-year spans is arbitrary and easily misinterpreted. Still, our decades merit pondering. How did the 1950s unveil American racism, sexism, environmental disregard, and religious intolerance? And how did that set the stage for the of the Sixties, from and to and ? How did our switch polarities? How can we assess the influence of or ? Of the or ? Or of ? How did the change America and the world? And have we outlived the ? Did finally triumph over ?movementscivil rightsfeminismenvironmentalisminterreligious explorationpolitical partiestelevisionadvertisingautomobilesuburbi…