Were the Sixties fab or bad?

Fab ...says Eddie Vee

THERE is a simple reply to Tony Blair's claim that all our troubles with drugs, violence, street crime, council tax, road humps, Euro 2004, the French, etc. etc. began with the lifestyle of the 1960s. It is a simple one word answer - unfortunately not printable in a fine family newspaper like this.

Instead let's look at what happened in the Sixties. The Welfare State and its 'cradle to the grave' caring policy was in full swing. We ended National Service, reduced the working week, introduced race equality laws, landed on the moon, invented the microwave oven, listened to the Beatles, and in 1963 a guy called David Sutch created the National Teenage Party - soon to become the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. What more could you want?

With fewer hours being worked, men and women had more leisure time. They also had more money. This created a new consumer market and the demand for new labour-saving devices such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners and cookers. They were good times. People wanted some freedom after the war - and suddenly they had it.

The sex and drugs revolution got rid of many inhibitions, which was good. I was born in 1960, so I naturally didn't have much sex in the Sixties. As for the drugs, I don't think it's possible to blame today's drug culture on what happened then. It was more about smoking tea-leaves and tea-bags and floating off into freedom. Harmless.

Another thing that happened in the Sixties was that televisions became a necessity. Instead of only reporting events and showing theatre shows, programmes were created especially for TV - the most enduring being Coronation Street and Top Of The Pops. That was great and let us know there was a world outside. The Sixties was also the decade when we first began to wake up to our responsibilities for the planet.

More than anything, though, the Sixties were about youth. It was the decade that gave youth a voice. Teenagers became the new cult name for children aged 13 to 19 - and the Sixties became the age in which teenagers began to stand up and do things for themselves.

Which meant pop music. Not so much Elvis - he had 12 No 1s, although the Sixties was the decade in which he became a family entertainer as opposed to a rocker; but the Beatles, the Monkees and other crazy beat bands.

If there was a down side, it was that maybe the rebellion thing went too far. We need role models. People have always rebelled, and in the Sixties perhaps we overdid it. But it was understandable. People wanted freedom. During the war years, every penny went on the war, and then afterwards on rebuilding. The Sixties was the time to have fun.

But for Tony Blair to blame the state of play today on the fine ideals of the Sixties is a complete Homer. In 2040 will the Prime Minister be saying "I blame it all on the Naughties for their indulgent lifestyle?" I hope not.

The Loony solution would be to get all the single men and women who live in houses too big for them on a mega speed dating meet-up. Once they have married, this will reduce the housing shortage by half. With less demand for housing, prices will tumble and first time buyers will be able to afford a house.

The influence of two parents instead of one will create proper role models for the kids, encouraging them to grow up and respect their community. Easy.

Eddie Vee is York's Official Monster Raving Loony

Bad ...says Nick Seaton

THE Sixties were ill-disciplined and overly permissive, and had a huge effect on our society ever since.

The people who grew up in the Sixties - an anti-authoritarian time, when people had much more relaxed moral attitudes - have grown up to occupy positions of influence and have helped shape our attitudes today.

Not everything about the Sixties was bad. It was a period of great progress in many ways, and to an extent there did need to be a change in attitudes. The greater freedoms that women secured, for example, were in many ways a very good thing. But often it all went too far.

So in the case of women, partly as a result of the feminist movement, we now expect women to be 'superwomen', going to work and bringing up the family. It was good that women were given more freedom: but now perhaps they have a burden of unrealistic expectations on their shoulders.

I think that the problem of excess was true about much in the Sixties. There was, understandably after the years of wartime austerity, an anti-authoritarian element that went too far and led to a culture of selfishness.

There was a kind of moral relativism, an 'anything goes' mind-set, so that everybody was encouraged to set their own moral code, regardless of whether it was good or bad.

This was accompanied by a huge shift away from the religious to the secular, whereby psychology, therapy and the self replaced religious absolutes, so that there was no right or wrong any more: it all depended on the individual.

That could be an excuse for any kind of behaviour, and it contributed to a lack of respect. Everybody demanded and expected respect for themselves, without realising that you have to earn respect. And yet they didn't respect those in society who were worthy of it - their parents, their teachers, their elders.

Without that kind of respect, a society is not going to function properly, and you see the kind of breakdown in law and order, the crime and the loutish, undisciplined behaviour, that in many ways we see round us now.

Then there was the sexual liberation that accompanied the contraceptive pill. Again, many would see that as a good thing - but it went too far.

The pill increased sexual promiscuity, which not only led to an increase in sexually-transmitted diseases but also undermined marriage and the family.

There was also a 'freeing-up' of abortion. which is bad in that we now kill thousands of potential babies every year. I'm not against abortion where there is a genuine reason, but abortion on demand is wrong.

So in many ways, Tony Blair is right to draw attention to the Sixties in the way he did.

I do think he was hypocritical, however. His government has to take a huge amount of responsibility.

Take education. Mr Blair's government has undermined religious education and daily worship in schools, and has undermined discipline by banning corporal punishment.

Making free condoms available in schools gives youngsters the wrong message, as does downgrading penalties for cannabis use. Many of these policies go back to politicians like Mr Blair having been brought up in the Sixties and carrying those extreme liberal attitudes through into government.

Nick Seaton is a York father of two grown-up children and chairman of the Campaign For Real Education

Updated: 11:29 Thursday, July 22, 2004