Having lived through 5 decades now, I'd have to say the one with the most change ... or
seeming change that never quite fulfilled its promise ... was the Sixties. I think, though it didn't go far or fully enough, culture and society changed in that decade more than any ten before or since.
And I didn't even have any other decades to compare it to at the time, but I felt in my soul a gladness over so many people waking up about religion, our political system, war and peace, racial justice, and so much more.
Though the giant leaps forward in those areas achieved during that small 10-year span have only
inched forward since, I think that decade's progress has had the most impact on our lives today ... and really marks a dividing point in Before and After in American life and consciousness.
And though I think the Millennio's is a prime candidate for Best Technological Improvements ... I don't think the 60's was any slouch in the tech department. Certainly science and exploration has seen nothing like the Moon Missions in the intervening 40 years. Yes, computers, cellphones, the internet, and the cool devices that combine it all make our individual lives so incredibly enriched as we approach 2010 ... but is mankind more technically advanced for those inventions than it was for reaching its planet's moon as we approached 1970?
I'm really glad time seems to flow slower when you're young. The 60's lasted a good, long time for me. As my favorite decade, that seems a nice reward.
