70s Fever Part 1: Play Me a Memory

So remember last week when I professed my love of Billy Joel in the form of an in-depth analysis of Piano Man? Well get ready, because it's about to happen again, but this time I'm going to be writing about an entire decade (this half of my blog will be known as "70s Fever").  In case you're super confused and wondering what the set up of my blog is going to be from here on out, I'm planning on alternating Billy Joel and 1970s posts each week (but honestly, every post is going to have some Billy Joel in it- it's bound to happen Somewhere Along the Line). But I digress.  It's showtime.

Please enjoy some Saturday Night Fever John Travolta to ease into the right frame of mind:

Hey guys.  Welcome to the 1970s.

What is there to say for a decade that so effortlessly speaks for itself? All I can tell you is that from the political drama to the music to the idea of growing up in my mom's childhood home in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania, I am completely enamored with the times and culture of 1970s America. My hope is that by the end of this series, you will be too.  For the first post of this series, we're going to start where any self-respecting history lesson should: with the people.  

Eagles, Desperado (1973)

The people. What were they fighting for? The 1970s heralded a new era of the civil rights movement, one that brought the focus back on women's rights, and for the first time shone the spotlight on gay rights in the United States.  Long-standing beliefs were being challenged, and in many ways real progress was being made- spearheaded in the form of grassroots efforts by ordinary people.  And...*Looks forebodingly towards the moonlight as a strange mist rises and a violin solo is heard in the distance*...perhaps most tellingly, snow fell for the first and last time (thus far) in Miami, Florida.

But anyways, back to the people.  In the mid-1970s disgruntled citizens took to the streets of San Francisco to protest Anita Bryant's anti-gay Save Our Children campaign, and women's rights were being fought for on an even larger scale.  Across the country, women were campaigning for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and the first National Women's Congress in a century was held in Houston, Texas in 1977.  

Announcement: The other day I wrote an essay using only feminine pronouns, and it was one of the most liberating moments of my life (really).  I can only imagine what it would have been like to be a part of those rallies for change- to be one of the 20,000 women who gathered in Texas to pass a National Plan of Action, or one of the many who fought against intolerance in California.  

In today's world, the old Tears for Fears tune (not from the 1970s and not Billy Joel, consistency is obviously not my forte) rings painfully true: "everybody wants to rule the world"- or perhaps everybody wants to save the world.  Most change occurs as a result of a group working together, and many of us seem to have forgotten that.  In the 1970s, passionate people found strength in numbers- and they were heard, at least as a rumble of things to come.  The gay rights movement picked up speed, and serious conversations were being held on women's reproductive health; however, discrimination based on gender and sexuality continued and intolerance has persevered to today.  

Would anything be different if one more person had joined the fight? Probably not. But then again, is that a real reason not to stand up for what you believe in?  As my favorite philosopher Billy Joel once crooned, "you've got your passion /you've got your pride/ but don't you know that only fools are satisfied" ("Vienna" The Stranger). Technology and social media have made it simple and temporary to advocate for oneself and others; in the 1970s, people acted on their convictions in a meaningful and public way- and the world has not yet outgrown their efforts.

LGBTQ rights (increasingly emphasizing transgender rights) and gender equality (the ERA never passed) still have a long way to go in the United States and the world, but if the 1970s have taught us anything, it's that snow can happen in Miami. *cue collective gasp*

Isn't that something you'd like to experience?

        John Travolta and snow in a sub-tropical climate?! The 70s prove you can have it all.