Old Time Revival

The writer has not yet scoured YouTube for late-60's vintage video to ascertain whether or not he is right, but Barack Obama has from day one always reminded him of Bobbie Kennedy. It's something about his body language and his manner of working the crowd - not to mention the revivalist fervour that accompanied his campaign.

Among other indications that the 1960's are being seen as the route out of the current malaise, we would add:

1). The apparently great sales success, in a difficult environment for such things, of the new/retro Chevrolet Camaro;

2). The widespread coverage received by Matt Taibbi's equally retro guerrilla press Rolling Stone article on Goldman Sachs (with all that this description might imply regarding journalistic rigour, or lack thereof);

3). The huge media assault accompanying the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. Briefly, since when has the number 40 been able to command such attention?

Aside from the fact that the significance of the 60's may vary widely according to one's personal interest - the new Camaro being available with a 6.2 litre engine at the same time as Fiat takes over Chrysler on the promise of fuel-saving technology, one would be remiss to fail to point out that there are a number of crucial differences between the present environment and that of four decades ago.

(Notwithstanding Silvio Berlusconni's Sardinian resurrection of the free love commune), first and foremost would be that 'we' don't have the money anymore. And he who has the money calls the shots. Leading the pack of the deep-pocketed, however, we find China, Russia and the Arab oil producing states - not one of which paid more than the faintest lip service to the rallying cries of the post-war utopia.

Mcluhan once made the point that 'We march backwards into the future'. Or perhaps quoting a futurist from the past amounts to more of the same error.

---------------------------------