generation x - a groovy kinda space

hey man! i mean, wow! what do you say about a generation who thought that love meant never having to say you’re sorry and peace meant running naked in public? or that a country named ceylon should now be known as the socialist democratic republic of sri lanka? or that elephant sized trousers and tie-dyed shirts were chic? the previous decades had been all about the man. the 60’s had vietnam, the 50’s korea, the 40’s the big II. the 70’s were about us dudes wanting control and change with peace signs and long hair. and grass (and for us in sri lanka, manioc)! it was, like, a new reality, man!

back then, there was this psychedelic wall poster which said “today is the first day in the rest of your life!” . ye gods and little fishes, so they were!

the decade, man, started with changes. rhodesia severed it’s last tie with the british crown and declared itself a racially segregated republic. the man poured troops into cambodia and killed four students protesting the war in vietnam at the kent state university. it was some heavy energy, man. paul mccartney announced the break up of the beatles after the release of “let it be”. a book about a preppy love story was a massive best seller. the chicks got tough, man, with germaine greer’s “the female eunuch”. in ceylon, a new government was installed promptly followed by our own youth revolt against the establishment sans flowers and smiley faces. we had queues and ration cards. apollo 13 limped home with a busted gas tank and simon & garfunkel’s “bridge over troubled waters” was, like, top of the charts. naturally hendrix and joplin died. jesus christ superstar debuted at the west end whilst a movie about a shark munching on the inhabitants of a small american town was a smash hit. groovy, like, you know!

oh! man, yes! there were wars and massacres! israel and egypt fought. america’s digression in vietnam continued until the middle of the decade and then left pol pot in charge of cambodia. africa was becoming a hot bed of nationalist fervor. the legendary raid on entebbe was staged. in jonestown, guyana, jim jones managed to persuade 900 to follow him to that pie in the sky. the slaying of eleven israeli athletes at the olympic games in munich eclipsed mark spitz’s 7 swimming golds. the godfather and the exorcist added to the vibes. it was, like, a bad trip – a conflict, man, of color. you know?

but, then again, jonathan livingston seagull a book about a spiritual seagull, tuned in to all the right vibrations. over the next few years china was seated in the un whilst in america the anti war movement gathered momentum. opec ruled. the pinnacle of establishment, the president of the united states of america was forced to reign insisting that he was not a crook. yeah, baby! music rocked, man, with deep purple, elton john, pink floyd, queen and led zeppelin. there were negative vibes. remember “high on the campus” and “okie from muskogee” ? a song about a pet rat named “ben” even got an afro haired little boy to the top of the charts. it was too heavy man! saturday night fever grooved the middle decade. we had the first micro chip, dude, and a group of universities in the usa connecting to each other via computer in what was the precursor to the www. at the movies it was all spaced out with “star wars”, “close encounters” and “alien”. in sri lanka, those perera brothers formed “the gypsies”.

later on there was more vibes. three popes within a nine week period was, like, infra dig ! strategic arms limitation treaties and the nuclear non proliferation pacts marked the thawing of relations between old enemies. it was chill out time, man. elvis left the building. pol pot collapsed in cambodia. in sri Lanka, a new government swept in and opened economic doors much to the relief of people in queues. earl mountbatten was blown up by the ira. in iran, the shah fled and ayatollah khomeini seized power and the american embassy. there was a leak in the nuclear reactor at three mile island and in britain, margaret thatcher was elected prime minister. evita debuted on broadway while in colombo color tv was introduced. on the 27th of december 1979 the soviet union invaded afghanistan and somewhere in northern sri lanka, among the wild flowers, a young land surveyor was doing some heavy thinking.

it was, man, a far out, psychedelic time. you dig?