Responsibility and freedom: exploring their relationship

¶ … Civil Rights

Can responsibility and freedom go hand in hand? The Civil Rights Act was created to bring equal rights to all citizens, but history shows that equal rights to all citizens did not come easy. War and protests brought about bloodshed, violence, and arrests of citizens. As law was created, some did not recognize it or follow it. Citizens that did not get equal treatment were resentful and reacted with further protests and more bloodshed.

The 1960s was a time of segregation. Blacks were not allowed to attend the same schools as whites. Public places provided only isolated sections for black customers. Blacks were not allowed to use the same restrooms as whites. They had their own isolated communities and churches and were not allowed to associate with whites. This also created situations where Blacks were barred from getting jobs and entering many public places. Women were not allowed the same privileges as men, regardless of their race. Their duties were confined to taking care of home, kids, and husband. Youth became bored with age old traditions. Women and youth were discontent with society.

As a result of the oppression, groups of youth, women, and Blacks become committed to seek reform of equal rights, some through peaceful confrontation (the civil rights movement 1960-1980, n.d.), and some through violence and rebellion (Hill, 2007). Youth groups began creating a voice of discontent through music. Rock-n-roll and hipster music was created to encourage rebellion against the traditions of society and the Vietnam War. TV shows, such as "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" presented a culture with adolescent style. It was encouraging teens to wear jeans and t-shirts and be lazy. Teens began setting up coffeehouses in basements and performing folk songs on acoustic guitars. The beats were transformed from being threats to products sold in stores. The Counter Culture Movement began with youth rejecting their parent's patterns and insisting on jeans and t-shirts, illegal drugs, and Rock-n-Roll music.

The Vietnam War was fought to stop communism in South Vietnam (Vietnam War, 2013). Even though, President Kennedy was against placing American military in South Vietnam because of political and military consequences, aid was increased to help the South Vietnamese to fight off communists insurgencies. The South Vietnamese government was incompetent, had bad leadership, and had political promotions that created corruption for the South Vietnamese people.

John F. Kennedy had won the presidential election by a narrow margin and had limited support from Congress (Civil Rights Movement, n.d.). This caused him to be cautious in the decisions he had to make. He was reluctant to lose Southern support by pushing too hard for civil rights legislation. He appointed large numbers of African-Americans to his administration in high level positions and strengthened the Civil Rights Commission.

The reason for the Vietnam War was because previous presidents had made promises to South Vietnam to offer support for the South Vietnamese people. It was an American national pledge to help South Vietnam to defend its independence from communism (Vietnam War History, n.d.). Another reason was to strengthen world order. By not offering support, it would have reduced confidence in other small nations concerning the commitment and integrity of the United States. Not offering the support would have created increased unrest, instability, and more war. President Kennedy felt obligated to the continued responsibility for the defense of freedom. The reason for offering support was for the independence of South Vietnam and its freedom from attack.

As the war progressed, aid was consistently being increased. This created young people being drafted without understanding the purpose of the war. It created more resentments from young having to leave home and defend a nation that could not defend itself because of a corrupt government. This brought about the Radical Youth Movement. Groups, such as the Beatles, began writing their own songs sending their own messages. Their music was written with notes outside of traditional music that sounded good to them. It was also written in protest to the Vietnam War with lyrics that voiced their disagreement with the war.

The hippie culture also come about during this time. The hippie culture emphasized freedom, self-expression, and pleasure. Their music as about psychedelic experiences, such as being under the influence of drugs, such as LSD. They created communes to promote communal living with sharing of food and finances. Members were allowed to do whatever they wanted as long as they respected each other. Many began to give up drugs for meditation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most influential civil rights leaders who delivered powerful speeches on equal rights for all citizens. Even after civil rights law was passed, desegregation was slow in developing. Martin Luther King, Jr. led protests in boycotting segregation in the South. He taught young Africans to protests in peaceful ways and protect themselves at the same time. He was arrested in 1960 for leading a protests and President Kennedy advocated for his release before he became President. President Kennedy assisted the protests by providing federal troops to protect blacks in desegregation efforts and slow the violence that stemmed from the protests.

Young black groups started performing sit-ins and freedom rides in protest of their rights being violated. They would purposely sit in 'white only' places in public places. A group of seven blacks and six whites, called the freedom riders, would ride in bus lines and sit in 'white only' seats. Blacks petitioned the Supreme Court to protect their rights. They created political pressure through national media to force the government to act to ensure civil rights.

The young black youth encouraged other blacks in their communities to enter the protests to eliminate segregation in their own communities. As the protests spread, desegregation slowly began to take place in public places. "The sit-ins taught young African-Americans that they did not have to wait for their elders in more established civil rights organizations, such as NACCP, to take action" (Hill, 2007). They learned to fight racism and discrimination with direct and immediate actions.

The March on Washington in August 1963 with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream" and the assignation of President Kennedy in November 1963 brought about passage of a comprehensive civil rights bill in 1964 to honor President Kennedy because of his advocating for civil rights. The bill gave protection against discrimination in voter's qualification tests, outlawed public segregation, authorized the Attorney General to file legal actions to enforce desegregation in public schools, authorized the withdrawal of funds from public programs practicing discrimination, and outlawed discrimination in employment practices. At that time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created to review complaints. It also brought about the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and 1968 legislation banning discrimination in housing.

The Civil Rights Movement prompted change from women and youth (Decades of change: The rise of cultural and ethnic pluralism, 2008). They fought for equal gender rights as well as race. The 1973 Supreme Court case of "Roe v. Wade" brought rights of abortion and created anti-abortion movements from protestors. The Latino Movement was encouraged from black activism in the civil rights movements. Hispanics began to get elected to political positions. Native Americans were also encouraged and began to fight for their own rights in protecting native tribal lands and recover lands taken away from them. The American Indian Movement (AIM) of 1968 helped gain government funds to aid Native controlled organizations to assist Native Americans in cities. The New Leftists group participated by opposing Vietnam drafts and the struggle against poverty.

The Black Panthers were created in 1966 to promote Malcolm X's doctrine of community self-defense against police shootings on black youth. Malcolm X was a leader of the Islam nation. He taught that blacks needed to first be recognized as human beings in order to win their rights in society. The blacks resented the gap between what the law stated was their rights and what rights they were actually able to demand. Even though the Black Panthers did good for their communities, such as helping the poor, they engaged in criminal activity and killing police officers in protest to police killing the black youth for illegitimate reasons. They wore black military beret clothing to signify their efforts in war against police.

These movements stimulated the Environmental Movement that fought for pollution reform policies and taught about the dangers of pollution. From this movement, legislation that was passed consisted of the Clean Water Act of 1967 and the Water Quality Improvement Act. The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 to enforce pollution law.

By November, 1969, President Nixon saw the need to explain to the nation the continuing efforts for the war in Vietnam because of the youth protests that were continuing to grow. He explained the need to consider future generations and peace in making decisions concerning the war. Because of betrayal to allies, it was important to keep previous commitments of support. He also had changed the American Foreign Policy. Under the new policy, the United States was committed to keep all commitments to treaties, provide a shield if nuclear power threatens the freedom of an ally or a nation that is important to U.S. security, and, in cases of other aggression, supply military economic assistance in accordance with treaty commitments, but should look to the nation threatened to assume primary responsibility to provide its own manpower for its defense. The goal was to reduce U.S. aid as the other country strengthens its own military for protection against attack.