Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era — the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run … but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant… .
History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time — and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened.
by: Casey
The late Hunter S. Thompson is one of my favorite authors and my favorite journalist because of insights like this. His stream-of-consciousness style, scathing indictment of political figures, unapologetic analysis of pop culture... it all comes together in a genuine (and slightly deranged) summary of the times. History textbooks give the obligatory details, the cataloged evidence... but they fail to convey the feeling of the era.
Thompson coined the term “gonzo” journalism, the practice of including oneself in the reporting of the story. He had no self-serving allegiances to consider while writing, and the result was a vicious, hybrid breed of reporting. Honest, hilarious, brutal... adjectives not associated with today’s reporting.
He makes me question when (or if) this generation will experience that pinnacle of energy and intent: Unification behind a singular cause for the accomplishment of something that remains to be seen. The internet allows us to communicate new ideas instantaneously, but I get the sense that nothing new is being shared, or maybe too many things are flying around to get a true sense of what is really happening... what people are really thinking.
Nevertheless, I pledge to keep my eyes open. And moving.
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