CHILDREN THEN, CHILDREN NOW – AT 7:58 P.M. ET:  Even some liberals, like Paul Begala, have called the sixties generation the worst generation we ever produced.   We are, of course, referring only to the generation of the late sixties, and, really, only part of it.

But it was the part that got the publicity.  Spoiled rotten by their Greatest Generation parents, who didn't want their kids to experience the hard-knuckled lives they'd lived, the kids of the late sixties, encouraged by adolescent college professors, "activists," and "journalists," tore up the campuses, lowered academic standards, and, while protesting the American action in Vietnam, remained silent over the Cambodian genocide.  Now, Boston University wants to do a little kissy-make up:

BOSTON — The telltale clues at this weekend’s festivities, 40 years late, included the tie-dye T-shirt on a woman who also wore a peace symbol necklace and a garland in her hair (“I thought everyone would be dressed like this,” she said).

When the group stood for its class picture, even those in suits and ties made the peace sign. Others raised clenched fists.

And one of them marched in the commencement processional with an antiwar poster slung around his neck.

The accouterment and spirit of their era still radiate from the class of 1970, despite the harsh and abrupt ending to their years at Boston University.

That spring was supposed to bring a flowery conclusion to their four years of academe. But President Richard M. Nixon had invaded Cambodia. National Guardsmen had gunned down students at Kent State, killing four and wounding nine. Young men still faced the draft. And this campus, like many across the country, was in turmoil, with strikes, sit-ins, building takeovers and fire-bombings.

The situation became so incendiary that, for safety’s sake, university officials called off final exams, canceled graduation and sent students packing.

This weekend, on what would have been the 40th anniversary of that ceremony, the university sought to make amends with a proper graduation.

COMMENT:  Read the story.  It will absolutely revolt you.  These little babies from a past era are still babies.  There is not a single reflective comment from them, not a single admission that, maybe, some of the things they did were hurtful rather than helpful. 

And, of course, it's all about them.  Not a word about the Vietnamese we betrayed, with their encouragement.  Not a word about the Cambodians.  Not a word about the trashing of once-great universities.  Not a word of apology for their parents, who'd sacrificed so much and were greeted with profound comments like, "Don't trust anyone over thirty."  How brilliant.  That's what passed for idealism in the late sixties.

And then there's this:

And the commencement speaker, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., singled them out.

“I love you all,” he told the crowd. But gesturing to the class of 1970, sitting right in front of him, he said, “But these are my people.”

I'm afraid that's right.  And let's remember, the next time Holder refuses to use the term "Islamic extremism," exactly what the man stands for.

May 16, 2010