Maurice Isserman, James L. Ferguson Professor of History and co-author of America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s, was quoted an Aug. 9 TIME magazine article titled "The Return of SDS to Campus." "SDS in the 1960s was real; SDS in 2007 is a fraud," claimed Isserman in the article. "'SDS' today is a virtual organization, utterly dependent on the web, with no national office, no newspaper, unable to muster more than a few score followers at other people's demonstrations, controlled by a small clique of non-student 'elders,' and hollow at the center."
In another look back at the '60s, Isserman, with co-author Michael Kazin of Georgetown University, penned an opinion piece that appeared in the Sunday, Aug. 12, edition of Newsday titled "Summer of love beats cynicism of today." The piece explored the roots of the summer of love in the the civil rights movement of the early 60s. The essay cites Martin Luther King in his 1963 "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," in which King challenged those who regarded civil rights activists as extremists. "Was not Jesus an extremist for love?" he asked. According to the authors, "Civil rights activists routinely spoke of their movement as a 'beloved community.'"
Having witnessed the changes wrought by the civil rights movement, "To young people in particular, the world seemed open to change in 1967 - in ways that today are difficult to remember or imagine," according to the writers. The piece closes with the question, "… given a choice between the values of that long-ago summer and those of our own Summer of Cynical Resignation, who would choose the latter?"
In another look back at the '60s, Isserman, with co-author Michael Kazin of Georgetown University, penned an opinion piece that appeared in the Sunday, Aug. 12, edition of Newsday titled "Summer of love beats cynicism of today." The piece explored the roots of the summer of love in the the civil rights movement of the early 60s. The essay cites Martin Luther King in his 1963 "Letter from the Birmingham Jail," in which King challenged those who regarded civil rights activists as extremists. "Was not Jesus an extremist for love?" he asked. According to the authors, "Civil rights activists routinely spoke of their movement as a 'beloved community.'"
Having witnessed the changes wrought by the civil rights movement, "To young people in particular, the world seemed open to change in 1967 - in ways that today are difficult to remember or imagine," according to the writers. The piece closes with the question, "… given a choice between the values of that long-ago summer and those of our own Summer of Cynical Resignation, who would choose the latter?"
