The sixties are remembered as this dreamy time where only music, flowers and colorful self-expression mattered. But memory often forgets the rough parts of history and sees the past through hazy colored sunglasses.
The world was shifting fast and progress is never tidy so beneath all the optimism we remember, there was tension, fear, and a lot of imbalances that people don’t talk about enough anymore.
Without the blurry haze of nostalgia, we can see things crystal clear as they were. The brightest moments of the era were important, but what really mattered was the discomfort that brought the real change.
1
Police brutality
Protesters for civil rights and against war often faced tear gas, and mass arrests.
2
Drug misuse
Psychedelics and amphetamines were embraced without understanding their risks.
3
Sexism everywhere
Women were legally fired for being pregnant, paid far less, and discouraged from most professional careers.
4
Political assassinations
The decade saw the murders of many political figures, so many that it became known for it.
5
Institutionalized mental health abuse
“Treatment” often meant electroshock therapy or lobotomies.
6
Economic inequality
The prosperity narrative ignored deep poverty going on in inner cities.
7
Media censorship
Television was sanitized, most things rarely made air.
8
Cold War anxiety
“Duck and cover” and general nuclear drills had people living with genuine fear.
9
Polio and other diseases
Vaccines were new and controversial, child mortality rates were far higher than today.
10
Racism
Segregation was still enforced in many states until mid-decade.
11
Vietnam War
Drafted teenagers were dying overseas for a conflict most Americans didn’t understand or support.
12
LGBTQ+ oppression
Gay relationships were criminalized.
13
Lead poisoning
Gasoline, paint, and even toys were full of lead, everyone was exposed.
14
Limited medical access
Healthcare was costly, uneven, and racially segregated in parts of the U.S.
15
Smoking was allowed everywhere
Smoking was marketed as glamorous, cancer wasn’t yet part of the cultural vocabulary.
16
Domestic violence silence
Abuse was considered a “private matter,” not a criminal issue.
17
Environmental neglect
Smog, factory waste and general pollution were standard.
