America, 1970-1977

[LBJ Revivalist]

Is it just me or was America around 1970-1979 a corrupt, drug drenched, dirty, sleazy nation? Maybe it was just New York. Political corruption at every level--from Federal (Nixon/Watergate) even down to local (Serpico)--more so than today. Morals were being thrown out the window and things which would've been met with gasps and shunning (like porn movies) were now, in the 70s, national events (Deep Throat, to which both celebrities and even the average American went to see), as never before. Drug use wasn't really a concern among the youth anymore--It was just a fact of life. In NYC, Off Tracking Betting opened in 1971, basically a societal acceptance or encouragement of gambling. Basically everything considered immoral just two decades before was now normal.

And it was important politically--In 1972, in my opinion, we see the birth of the modern GOP (with Nixon destroying the New Deal Coalition and creating the Great Silent Majority which has served the GOP in every election since), and the death of or beginning of the end of the New Deal era. It was a watershed year politically--Watergate, Nixon going to China, Detente and ending with Nixon winning in a landslide. It was almost, at least for the moment, a vindication for all the conservative folks and a devastating blow to the Hippies and anti-war people--That here, the man they hated, Nixon was re-elected overwhelmingly. 1972 marks in my opinion the end of the Hippie/Anti war movement as a major force in society, with many of the Hippie elements (long hair, facial hair) just being absorbed by the mainstream culture.

The war was winding down, and by 1975-1976 after the war, it seems America was set in party mode, with the Discos, Studio 54--decadence on a level not seen since.

It seems like in all those years there was this dull, sort of jaded sense of ''this is how life is'' (Like the cynicism of the 90s) but mixed with this wild urge to party and take everything to excess and go to hell with everything--all mixed together to create a sort of land of the rough and tough, moreso than before. The '80s are called the Decade of Excess but I think that belongs more to the '70s, particularly 1972.

The grit, sleaziness and general attitude of the 70s is summed up for me by the song "Rocks Off" by The Rolling Stones, from Exile on Main St. That album is for me an exploration of America in 1972 at least, or of this very corrupt and dirtied sense of Americana.

[Scam of God]

Moralistic judgments are not retroactively applicable (nor temporally applicable, for that matter). Your concern is duly noted.

[Bo]

You're making the 70s sound much more depressing than they actually were. Politics wasn't really any more corrupt in the 1970s than in any other era. Even Watergate can be matched by Iran-Contra in the 1980s. As for the New Deal coalition being broken up, that was due more to the aftereffects of LBJ's policies than to what occured in the 1970s.  A lot of good things happened in the 1970s: We left Vietnam, established relations with China, detente, disco, environmentalism, a lot of new trends, and a decent President in Gerald Ford.

[LBJ Revivalist]

I don't think they were horrible--I actually wished I lived then rather than now. It's just when you looked at say films from the era everything seems much more dirty, grimy, than earlier or later. There seemed to be a certain downright sleaziness to much of the era that I in a sense wish was here today. Maybe I'm looking at it through the lens of a New Yorker (given the state of NYC in the '70s) whose family struggled throughout the '70s and faced hardship but it seems..idk..a tougher time, when people had to be tougher to get by--and I think that's a good thing.

[Dancing with Myself]

Pop Culture really exploded as well.

In Movies you had Deep Throat, the first mainstream Porno, you had The Exrocist and The Omen, which started a religious movement. As well Star Wars, which was the highest earning film after Jaws and The Exrocist.






In TV, you had Saturday Night live, which pushed buttons, and was NBC's number one show. All in The Family was a hit, as well as Stanford and Son, Maude, and Little House. Plus you had Roots, which was a big cultural moment.





In Music there was Disco, which had many memorable hits, but died by 1980. You had Punk Rock, with The Stooges, MC5, The Romones, The Sex Pistols, and Others. You also had New Wave with Blondie, Talking Heads, and Gary Numan.




As for Pop culture, you had several famous celebrities. Burt Reynolds, with Hits Deliverance, The longest Yard, Smokey and The Bandit, and in the early 80's Cannonball Run. The main female was the late Farrah Fawcett, with her legendary poster, as well as Charlie's Angels.





Son Needless to say, the 70's was one of the best decades for Pop Culture.

[Free Trade is managed by the invisible hand.]

Is it just me or was America around 1970-1979 a corrupt, drug drenched, dirty, sleazy nation? Maybe it was just New York. Political corruption at every level--from Federal (Nixon/Watergate) even down to local (Serpico)--more so than today. Morals were being thrown out the window and things which would've been met with gasps and shunning (like porn movies) were now, in the 70s, national events (Deep Throat, to which both celebrities and even the average American went to see), as never before. Drug use wasn't really a concern among the youth anymore--It was just a fact of life. In NYC, Off Tracking Betting opened in 1971, basically a societal acceptance or encouragement of gambling. Basically everything considered immoral just two decades before was now normal.

And it was important politically--In 1972, in my opinion, we see the birth of the modern GOP (with Nixon destroying the New Deal Coalition and creating the Great Silent Majority which has served the GOP in every election since), and the death of or beginning of the end of the New Deal era. It was a watershed year politically--Watergate, Nixon going to China, Detente and ending with Nixon winning in a landslide. It was almost, at least for the moment, a vindication for all the conservative folks and a devastating blow to the Hippies and anti-war people--That here, the man they hated, Nixon was re-elected overwhelmingly. 1972 marks in my opinion the end of the Hippie/Anti war movement as a major force in society, with many of the Hippie elements (long hair, facial hair) just being absorbed by the mainstream culture.

The war was winding down, and by 1975-1976 after the war, it seems America was set in party mode, with the Discos, Studio 54--decadence on a level not seen since.

It seems like in all those years there was this dull, sort of jaded sense of ''this is how life is'' (Like the cynicism of the 90s) but mixed with this wild urge to party and take everything to excess and go to hell with everything--all mixed together to create a sort of land of the rough and tough, moreso than before. The '80s are called the Decade of Excess but I think that belongs more to the '70s, particularly 1972.

The grit, sleaziness and general attitude of the 70s is summed up for me by the song "Rocks Off" by The Rolling Stones, from Exile on Main St. That album is for me an exploration of America in 1972 at least, or of this very corrupt and dirtied sense of Americana.

Republicans simply became more conservative and this shift is based off my observation that right wing think tanks got more conservative. Think tanks that tried to stay moderate were overthrown and taken over by even more conservative members. Someone could simply say that the rise in think tanks does not directly correlate with the election of conservative legislators,but these think tanks provide important talking points and policy.

In an ideal world strong minded individuals like me would have the opportunity to openly confront individuals at CATO and Heritage every day. Unfortunately, These morons/hacks and failed professors will rarely change their minds when confronted with heavily researched facts.

[Beet]

Political apathy and cynicism is not the worst thing in the world. I'd take that over too much political fanaticism any day.

[k-onmmunist]

The 70s sucked.

[opebo]

The seventies were the pinnacle of not only america but human achievement generally.

[memphis]

The 80s were far worse. Crime, teen pregnancies, crack, AIDS ad nasuem.

[Cubby]

The 70's and 80's were both awful decades. It would have been better if we could have gone from 1969 right to 1989. Except for ending Vietnam and electing Gerald Ford, nothing good happened in those years. Everyone was too hairy and the movies sucked. Reagan was probably the worst tragedy to strike during that time.

[Хahar 🤔]

The 70's and 80's were both awful decades. It would have been better if we could have gone from 1969 right to 1989. Except for ending Vietnam and electing Gerald Ford, nothing good happened in those years. Everyone was too hairy and the movies sucked. Reagan was probably the worst tragedy to strike during that time.

Electing Gerald Ford?

[memphis]

The 70's and 80's were both awful decades. It would have been better if we could have gone from 1969 right to 1989. Except for ending Vietnam and electing Gerald Ford, nothing good happened in those years. Everyone was too hairy and the movies sucked. Reagan was probably the worst tragedy to strike during that time.

[J. J.]

I would argue that the cultural change seen in late 1970's early 1980's was part of the re-alignment.  Even prior aired drug jokes on The Tonight Show were censored in the early 1980's reruns.

Having lived through that, there was a marked cultural change.

[dead0man]

The 70s had some suck, some super suck and some awesome and some super awesome...just like every other freaking decade...ever.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Or maybe people in these times were just normal and today we've become moralfags... Judging an era's moral values according to our own era makes no sense.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

The 80s were far worse. Crime, teen pregnancies, crack, AIDS ad nasuem.

And Ronald Reagan.

[opebo]

The 70's and 80's were both awful decades. It would have been better if we could have gone from 1969 right to 1989. Except for ending Vietnam and electing Gerald Ford, nothing good happened in those years. Everyone was too hairy and the movies sucked. Reagan was probably the worst tragedy to strike during that time.

You're crazy.  1989 was a very low point, and continued at the lowest of low ebbs through at least '93 or '94. 

The seventies generally and the early eighties were the high point.  My personal favorite was 1977-1983 - basically all my favorite music and style comes from that time.

[opebo]

I would argue that the cultural change seen in late 1970's early 1980's was part of the re-alignment.  Even prior aired drug jokes on The Tonight Show were censored in the early 1980's reruns.

Having lived through that, there was a marked cultural change.

Yes mainstream america was dropping off the precipice into a kind of soft fascism from around 81-85.. but like many such fin de siècle periods the art and culture was attaining a height (albeit about to be destroyed).  Not at all unlike Weimar Germany.

[k-onmmunist]

I would argue that the cultural change seen in late 1970's early 1980's was part of the re-alignment.  Even prior aired drug jokes on The Tonight Show were censored in the early 1980's reruns.

Having lived through that, there was a marked cultural change.

Yes mainstream america was dropping off the precipice into a kind of soft fascism from around 81-85.. but like many such fin de siècle periods the art and culture was attaining a height (albeit about to be destroyed).  Not at all unlike Weimar Germany.

Wrongly used word.

[opebo]

I would argue that the cultural change seen in late 1970's early 1980's was part of the re-alignment.  Even prior aired drug jokes on The Tonight Show were censored in the early 1980's reruns.

Having lived through that, there was a marked cultural change.

Yes mainstream america was dropping off the precipice into a kind of soft fascism from around 81-85.. but like many such fin de siècle periods the art and culture was attaining a height (albeit about to be destroyed).  Not at all unlike Weimar Germany.

Wrongly used word.

Which one?

Fin de siècle is French for "end of the century".  The term sometimes encompasses both the closing and onset of an era, as it was felt to be a period of degeneration, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning.
Wiki

[Stranger in a strange land]

National Morale was at an all-time low, mainly the result of Vietnam and Watergate, but also due to the Counterculture and the backlash against it. American society was more deeply divided than it had been at any time since the Civil War, cities were decaying, and manufacturing jobs were starting to move overseas. Overall, it was a pretty ****** time, and one I'm glad I wasn't alive for.

[Cubby]

The 70's and 80's were both awful decades. It would have been better if we could have gone from 1969 right to 1989. Except for ending Vietnam and electing Gerald Ford, nothing good happened in those years. Everyone was too hairy and the movies sucked. Reagan was probably the worst tragedy to strike during that time.

Electing Gerald Ford?

He was the last moderate Republican President and last one that I like. If he had been re-elected in 1976 we would have been spared the horror that was the Reagan Presidency. He's underrated.

[Хahar 🤔]

The 70's and 80's were both awful decades. It would have been better if we could have gone from 1969 right to 1989. Except for ending Vietnam and electing Gerald Ford, nothing good happened in those years. Everyone was too hairy and the movies sucked. Reagan was probably the worst tragedy to strike during that time.

Electing Gerald Ford?

He was the last moderate Republican President and last one that I like. If he had been re-elected in 1976 we would have been spared the horror that was the Reagan Presidency. He's underrated.

When was he elected?

[Cubby]

The 70's and 80's were both awful decades. It would have been better if we could have gone from 1969 right to 1989. Except for ending Vietnam and electing Gerald Ford, nothing good happened in those years. Everyone was too hairy and the movies sucked. Reagan was probably the worst tragedy to strike during that time.

Electing Gerald Ford?

He was the last moderate Republican President and last one that I like. If he had been re-elected in 1976 we would have been spared the horror that was the Reagan Presidency. He's underrated.

When was he elected?

He wasn't elected, I made a mistake    

The 70's and 80's were both awful decades. It would have been better if we could have gone from 1969 right to 1989. Except for ending Vietnam and electing Gerald Ford, nothing good happened in those years. Everyone was too hairy and the movies sucked. Reagan was probably the worst tragedy to strike during that time.

In general, men had way too much facial hair and long hair. Women's hair was also too puffy and frizzy.