Is This Generation The 60s All Over Again?

Anyone who's ever browsed Reddit knows it has its share of the good, the bad, and the outright bizarre. You can expect as much from anywhere that creates a playground for human thought. Anyway, in the wake of rising civil unrest and international conflict, an interesting theory has cropped up on the ShowerThoughts subreddit, positing we may be repeating the 1960s in an uncanny way.

Stay with me here. Redditor WaalsVander created the thread on Thursday, Dec. 4. While the original content of their post has been removed, hundreds of Redditors have jumped onto the thread to draw their own comparisons between the political and social climates of both time periods, focusing on everything from foreign relations to popular fashion. Some of the comparisons are a little farfetched, but those are outweighed by ones that are actually kind of scary if you think about them too much.

Also, might I mention it's been suggested that history repeats itself. So, I dunno you guys, these guys might be onto something. Before I head into the kitchen to start taking measurements for my tinfoil hat, here are a few of Reddit's more compelling arguments as to how we might be repeating the 1960s.

Russian conflict: Crimean Crisis vs. The Cold War

Waalsvander noted that, like freshman year relationships around this time of year, things between the U.S. and Russia are a little tense. Russia's controversial actions in Ukraine, mainly the annexation of Crimea, got it kicked out of the G8. You can't sit with us, Putin.

This parallels the Cold War — otherwise known as the U.S.'s major standoff with the USSR — which reached a paramount following the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

Space exploration: Mars Exploration vs. Moon Landing

We've made a lot of advancements in space technology as of late. Between landing a robot on a freakin' comet and making advancements in our mission to land on Mars, it's an exciting time for space travel. The 1960s too were an exciting time for space travel, considering the U.S. landed the first manned aircraft on the moon in 1969.

andresemilfer notes:

And Interstellar resembles 2001: a space oddyssey (sic), which makes sense since both movies were released in a context of excitement space exploration or its current revival.

Race conflict: Ferguson vs. Civil Rights Movement

Protests continue to spread throughout the U.S. following the deaths of three unarmed African-American men —Mike Brown (17), Tamir Rice (12), and Eric Garner (43) — at the hands of police officers within the last year. In the 1960s, protests and riots were common surrounding the issue of civil rights, specifically for African-Americans. An important contrast however, is the lack of poster-child leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. It's never too late, though.

As George Santayana once wrote: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Images: Wikimedia Commons: Public Domain, Getty (3)