In times of great social conflict, artists often rise to the occasion and express their unrest through art, song, and more. Music has been a popular medium for protest throughout the years, but perhaps never as strongly as that of the 1960’s counterculture movement. With America in the midst of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, the music of the 1960’s strongly represented the sentiments of social justice.
As President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, many are fearing a new era of unjust social policies from the White House. Singer/songwriter Neil Young, an activist since the 1960’s, recently spoke about the parallels between then and now. “This time is very similar to the ’60s, as far as I can tell,” he said in an interview with Mother Jones. “The artists always reflect the times, so there’s a lot to think about, a lot of unknowns, a lot of things that are describable. This is the closest I’ve seen to the kind of ambience that made the ’60s happen. It’s not about the artist having a responsibility to do anything. They have to be artists and express themselves and everything will work out fine. It’s all going to be great. The youth of this country are not behind what is going on. We all know that. If you looked at a [political] map of the United States 25 and under, it’s all-revealing. It’s a unified map.”
Though Neil Young is concerned about the troubling times, it’s also nice to see him so optimistic about the youth of this country. He continues talking about the way people will be connecting with one another, saying, “We had the Vietnam War in the ’60s, and there was a draft. The students didn’t believe in it, and it unified them. That brought the people together and made the ’60s like they were. The youth were very unified against the status quo—against the old line and the new old line. It’s the same exact thing today. Social media and young people, art, music, all communications make this one of the most active times for activism. It will be a time of change.”
Let’s hope that Young is right, and more artists will usher in this time of change in the years to come.