By Tommy Acosta
Sedona AZ: I am a child of the 60’s — a proud Baby Boomer.
I came awake during the summer of 1968, when the war in Vietnam was raging and so many of my generation were being sacrificed and maimed in the name of freedom and of profit.
I was one of those college students that grew their hair long, marched against the war and demonstrated in the streets of Washington D.C.
At that time, we, the youth, understood that behind all conflict the profit motive lurked.
We knew that an element exists in the world that benefits greatly from war, disease, degradation, famine, hate, pain, division and sorrow; and has been doing so since the beginning of civilization thousands of years ago.
We saw the blatant institutionalized racism in every nook and cranny of the world.
We knew of the genocide waged against the indigenous people of America by the white Europeans, that stole everything from them and almost exterminated their culture.
We understood that war creates unimaginable profit for those who invest in its lethal machinery and the industry that produces them.
We saw how wars were created and maintained by the profiteers in our government and businesses.
We understood how people are manipulated by the inputs into their consciousness, controlled by those who owned the media, newspapers, radio and TV.
We saw how jails profit by the incarceration of people of color in astounding ratios, when compared to white inmates.
We saw how racial stereotypes were maintained in literature and TV programming and how some police freely exercised violence against minorities; with impudence and nothing there to stop them.
We were aware of the disparity between the level of education offered to whites as compared as to the level offered to minorities.
We saw how disadvantaged communities are used as breeding grounds for drugs and violence
We understood how the very products we consumed were designed to rob us of nutrient’s, replaced by sugar-laden foods that set the stage for disease, forcing us to take the medicines we need to stay alive while creating massive profits for Big Pharma.
We knew that to this element that controls us, we the people, were but sheep and cattle there to serve them and increase their profits.
Yes, we were awake. But we had to be put back to sleep because we were becoming burdensome to our masters. We were waking up and that was dangerous to their control and profits.
Our leaders were eliminated: John F. Kennedy and his brother; Martin Luther King; John Lennon; Jerry Rubin; AbbyHoffman; and so many others.
And we did fall back asleep, that is until the rise of today’s Woke generation.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as: “Aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”
Woke is further defined as “Being aware or well informed in a political or cultural sense, especially regarding issues surrounding marginalized communities. It describes someone who has “woken up” to issues of social injustice.”
A big difference between those of us who awakened back in the 60s and 70s and those who are Woke today, is that back then there was little we could do about it, other than demonstrate, while now, the Woke can create change.
You can see it in the promulgation of Critical Race Theory. You can see it in movies, and cable news networks as Blacks and Browns are ever more portrayed in positions of power and respect.
More and more we see Black and White couples marrying and having children.
TV commercials regularly feature people of color in beautiful homes, consuming products.
There is a homogenization of the races being conducted through all media sources, geared, one may assume, to create a more racially balanced community and population.
The Woke may be focusing on social issues and rectifying the sins of the past by banning great works of literature, a truly sad and misdirected effort that denies the importance of critical thinking and learning from the past. Same for Cancel Culture. But they fail to open the curtain and expose the wizard behind every woe society yet experiences.
They are still being manipulated by the element that profits from human misery; used to further divide the population the profiteers exploit.
But there is hope. At least this Woke generation woke up from the benign illusion society has been operating under for so long a time. Maybe they will shift their attention to ending the profit-motivated wars we are still burdened by.
Burning books and toppling statues are not near as effective as breaking through the walls of ignorance standing in our minds.
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9 Comments
The Woke Generation is braindead and the CRT is racist philosophy. You have lost your way.
Yes! I’m with you and of the BBG like you. Freedom is only what the person in charge lets you have and there are a lot of them with bad ideas. We can’t run away from life and to get equal treatment sometimes you got to fight. This is not always good but that’s life people make their choice good or bad. I try to make the world better however that’s all I can do. In short you can’t force your way into a place or position you just have show up and you may be given a chance. But you have to show up with a good mine set.
nice one, Tommy. The most woke today, in my opinion, are those the cryptocurrency community, they understand that to truly break government control we need to separate money from state.
Love it! You own the term Woke, something thrown at us in a disparaging way, and remind us of what it means. Hell yes, I’m woke. Throw it at me all you want. It will only make me more determined to awaken us all to what is happening here in the 3D and in a reality deeper than most care to see. Nice post Tommy.
Excellent article. I was losing hope. Maybe there is some after all.
Jeanie
Awake/Woke to me, is a continuation of a certain awareness of humanity’s ongoing circumstances and struggles. Whether it’s the Boomer generation or the present one being aware of who controls everything, we’re still residing within the same framework, swimming in the same ocean (as them) so vast and souped in social crap that its impossible to ever see clearly. Impossible to escape such sturdy tentacles. One generation comes, another goes, each experiencing life differently, most with the same–unaware indifference and sameness in mundane living. We experienced the Beatles and idealism and a hope for the salvation of this planet. However, there is no way we’re ever going to convince those who keep their head buried in the sand that all living beings are equal.
Our generation had an opportunity to make real change but we blew it. We let THEM blow up the counterculture, by giving into the appeal of materialism. We may not have swallowed their controlling philosophy, religion, or law, but we bought all the groovy gadgets that made us say, “Wow” and entrapped ourselves into the very framework we were trying to escape Why? Because we weren’t homeless, and really didn’t want to be. So, who are we to “teach?” — aside from the fact that it is impossible to “reach” the ignorant because there are more of them than ever before. It is sad to realize how many people live and die without the slightest clue of any “awakening”. Clearly, being awake or woke is not the objective of life.
I have solace in the knowledge that the period of time spent on earth is only temporary. Also, there is no power that controls what my mind (or anyone else’s really) and common sense perceived as the “truth”–you and I and so many have delved into, in so many ways, searched, not just for justice but the meaning of life, etc. For me, life is a vast convincing hallucination on a mere speck of an island in the greater ocean of a reality that most are unaware they’re in. Awake or Woke, we are all still in a dream that is probably not all that important in this bigger picture known as “existence.” It really doesn’t matter who rules society, because we all WILL leave this realm. In other words, we are all going to die. Thus there is no escaping “the escape.” I’ve come to view life as nothing more than the “experience” it was meant to be. Some were meant to be ignorant. They uphold us.
Thank you for your words. I feel exactly the same as you. No matter how hard we try, this evil cadre of exploiters always seem to have their way. They rule history. They have ruled from the beginning and their descendants still do. The Woke are pawns in their hands, used to cultivate hatred in the hearts of the un-woke. The ignorant. And the Trumpsters. The evil ones finally have the tools (Ai, Covid fear, etc), to finally subjugate the entire world. All they need is to divide us to the point of no return, and shut the lights of reason and hope forever.
Your first sentence was a joke right?
” I am a child of the 60’s — a proud Baby Boomer.” …..What happened?…..Most everything your talking about is worse now than the 60’s! War, yea we just ended 2 of them that went on for 20 years a piece! Trillions of wasted dollars..
And why, for the all mighty dollar, control the middle east….What changed? We were lied into it. What changed?
The baby boomer generation is now a joke….You left your morals behind in the 80’s! Have you forgotten?
The boomers, sold America for profit and greed!…..Have you forgotten what neoliberalism has done to this country?….The pride and joy accomplishments of the US Chamber of Commerce and the GOP!
You left the middle class to die…..Reaganomics ring a bell? Union busting? Eliminating pensions for not guaranteed 401ks?
Never heard of wage stagnation?….Yes you boomer, how you could be proud of the devastation you left behind in mind blowing….Go out talk to young people, dont matter if a collage grad or a drop out, no future…No retirement, no healthcare….
Talk about looking at the world through rose colored glasses!
Look behind you, not in front of you….Everything is worse and the majority now struggle and have little future!
Awake or awoke are just words. The American people, perhaps the most educated in the world, have no meaningful say in the economy or their government. It has been this way in the past and will continue to be this way for the foreseeable future. There is the Tommy Acosta fantasy that the “baby boomers” made substantial changes in the course of our nation. He suggests that his generation expanded freedom in the 60’s. He declares to all that he sees hope in the awoke movement which advocates discrimination solely on the basis of race and financial reparations also solely based on race theory and wrapped in a slogan called social justice.
People of Power don’t care if you are awake or awoke. Old wars have been replaced with new wars and old music has been replaced with new music. In the awoke world criminals are the victims and people should be given jobs and power based solely on the color of their skin. Rich people don’t care about such distractions because these distractions are “fads” … something like Mr. Acosta’s “bell bottoms” and “Beatle boots” of the 60’s.
Rich people think about things like bio-technological science, AI Robotics, and continued progress in the colonialization of Mars. Domestically, rich people are concerned with overpopulation. Basically, they know, the uncontrolled and alarming number of humans will prove to be the greatest threat to world stability.
Rich people appreciate that the masses are ignorant, violent and quite capable of rioting and burning their upper class homes and mansions down. This has happened from time to time in human history and so they are guarded. Yes, the rioters will burn in the name of social justice. Still, the Rich have other homes and go forward undaunted.
It is clear to the Rich people that the Earth itself is revolting against human pollution and waste. The rich people understand that biological weapons, super violent natural disasters and mentally ill political leaders are all part of an irreversible process of decay and destruction. For the Rich, the obvious solution is colonialization of other planets.
The plan is to leave all the awakened and awokened people on a dying Earth. They will be left to govern their enlightened selves. Of course, the best and the brightest will elect to explore new worlds. This is happening already.
For those of us living in between historical rungs on the ladder, we should do well to enjoy the moment and navigate our young family members to become proficient in the sciences and technology so that they may be invited to explore the stars.
There is more than hope for a better future. Steps have been taken to ensure that our species will survive and become even better than it has ever been. Of course, this techno-vision for a better future does not embrace everybody.
It never has.