1966

On June 13, 1966, the Supreme Court issued its landmark Miranda vs. Arizona decision, ruling that criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights prior to questioning by police.   (From Friday’s NY Times)

 

Hmmm,  have I watched too many cop shows on tv?  I had forgotten the big deal when Miranda rights were instituted.  1966 had some other events of interest, too:

 

• Indira Ghandi, Neru’s daughter, becomes Prime Minister of India
• DeGaulle inaugurated for 2nd term as President of France
• International Days of Protest against U.S. policy in Vietnam
• Red Guard demonstrates in China against western influence
• Israeli and Jordanian forces fight battle in Hebron area
• British Guiana becomes the independent nation of Guyana
• Literature:  Truman Capote, "In Cold Blood"; Jacqueline Susann, "Valley of the Dolls"; Edward Albee, "A Delicate Balance"; William Manchester, "The Death of a President"; John Barth, "Giles Goat Boy"
• The United Brethren and Methodist churches merge to create the United Methodist Church with combined membership of almost 11 million
• Roman Catholic Bishops rule that U.S. Catholics need no longer abstain from eating meat on Fridays, except during Lent
• Films:   "Torn Curtain," Fahrenheit 451," "Alfie," A Man for All Seasons," "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
• "Man of La Mancha,"  musical play in New York; also "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever"
• The new Metropolitan Opera House opens in New York City’s Lincoln Center
• Popular songs:  "Born Free,"  "Eleanor Rigby,"  "Strangers in the Night,"  "Ballad of the Green Berets"
• DeBakey implants artificial heart in Houston Texas.  The 37 year old woman returns home 19 days later
• Soviet spacecraft makes successful soft landing on the moon
• Edwin Aldrin steps out of Gemini 12 spacecraft for 129 minutes
• Nobel Prize:  Huggins for study of hormonal treatment of cancer of the prostate;  Rous for his discobery of a cancer virus
• In London, Cassius Clay wins two title fightsSpassky defeats Tal for world Chess championship
• Miniskirts come into fashion
• Color tv becomes popular
• U.S. population is 195,827,000
• President Johnson’s daughter Luci marries Patrick Nugent
• Baltimore beats Los Angeles in World Series
• Jack Nicklaus wins the Masters gold routnament 2nd year in a row

And so much more!  What a busy year 1966 was.   I was in my early 20s, a mini-skirt wearing war protestor, singing along to "Eleanor Rigby."

It seens very very long ago.    The literature has held, I’m glad to see, as I read everything popular that year, saw all the movies, and in general cared about keeping up with things then.   (Not so much now)      Certainly our three big concerns were the war, Civil Rights, and women’s lib.   It was exciting to engage in ‘consciousness raising’ sessions, to broaden our idea of what it meant to be a woman. We explored our inner racism, too,  trying to understand, to be better people, to confront and rid ourselves of the biases with which we had been raised.    And most of us were in despair over the war.   Just like now.  Do we EVER learn?  As a nation, i mean.